Temecula Rallies Against SDG&E’s Golden Pacific Powerlink

Temecula has been here before — and residents are making it clear they’re ready to fight again.

San Diego Gas & Electric’s proposed Golden Pacific Powerlink — a 144-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line stretching from the Imperial Valley to Orange County — has ignited one of the most unified displays of community opposition Temecula has seen in years. Packed city council meetings, a grassroots coalition in matching yellow t-shirts, and a growing list of local businesses and officials speaking out all point to the same message: not through our town.

What SDG&E Is Proposing

The Golden Pacific Powerlink would run nearly 150 miles of extra-high-voltage transmission line, supported by towers reaching roughly 200 feet — about 20 stories tall. The proposed route begins at SDG&E’s Imperial Valley Substation near Mexicali, cuts through Anza-Borrego State Park and past Palomar Mountain in San Diego County, then crosses into Riverside County and through — or directly alongside — Temecula Parkway, Temecula Creek, the Santa Margarita River, and Pechanga tribal land before continuing on toward Camp Pendleton. A new substation is also planned in southern Orange County.

SDG&E says the project is meant to strengthen grid reliability and support the flow of electricity across Southern California as demand keeps climbing. The utility has been careful to note that the route shown at recent open houses is still preliminary — no final path has been selected, and the project remains in the early planning and environmental review phase. A formal application to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the agency with final say over whether the project moves forward, is expected before the end of the year.

One detail that’s fueled a lot of the local frustration: SDG&E has confirmed this is a transmission line, not a distribution line — meaning it won’t directly power Temecula homes. The benefit, as the utility frames it, is systemic: a stronger, more interconnected statewide grid. For many residents, that’s a tough trade-off to accept in exchange for towers running through their backyards.

Why Temecula Is Pushing Back

The opposition isn’t coming from one direction — it’s coming from nearly every corner of the community, and for a range of overlapping reasons:

Wildfire and safety. Critics argue that massive steel towers running through dry hillsides and creek beds — exactly the terrain Temecula sits in — could compromise firefighting access and choke off evacuation routes during a wildfire. A union representing Riverside County firefighters has raised similar concerns.

Wine Country’s identity is on the line. The Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association and Visit Temecula Valley have both come out against the project, warning that high-voltage infrastructure running through wine country threatens the rural character and scenic beauty that took decades to build. Hot air balloons — arguably Temecula’s most iconic image — regularly drift through the exact airspace where towers could be constructed, raising both safety questions and worries about the region’s tourism brand.

Property values and community character. Local business owners and activists say the towers would be a permanent eyesore in a valley that’s built its economy around being a scenic destination — and that the impact on home and land values could be significant.

Tribal concerns. Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro has said the tribe has serious concerns about potential impacts to Pechanga’s ancestral cultural resources, and expects to be meaningfully consulted as the process moves forward.

A sense of déjà vu. This isn’t Temecula’s first fight over high-voltage lines through the valley. Longtime residents point back to the defeat of the Valley-Rainbow Interconnect project in 2002, and the community’s earlier success — alongside the Pechanga Band — in helping stop the Sunrise Powerlink and the Liberty Quarry project. The message from organizers has been blunt: we’ve done this before, and we can do it again.

The Opposition Organizing on the Ground

A grassroots group called Save Temecula: Fight the Powerlines has emerged as the face of local resistance, led by president Mark Winkler and chief marketing and communications officer Shal Renfro. Renfro didn’t mince words about the stakes: the project, in her view, is “unprecedented industrial infrastructure” that poses “an existential threat to every family, home, business, and vineyard in Temecula.”

The group organized a public rally at the Temecula Duck Pond on Friday, July 31, drawing supporters in matching “Fight the Powerlink” t-shirts. That followed a Temecula City Council meeting where hundreds of residents showed up to voice opposition — a scene one attendee summed up for reporters with a warning aimed squarely at SDG&E: “You’ve got a fight on your hands.”

City leadership has largely sided with residents. Councilmembers Brenden Kalfus and Zak Schwank have both publicly opposed the proposed route. Schwank went as far as to walk a comparable existing 500-kV line running through Menifee and Perris, documenting the tower heights, the width of the required easement, and even the audible hum of the electricity — footage he shared to illustrate what could be coming to Temecula’s own neighborhoods. Riverside County supervisors have also voiced opposition.

Where Things Stand

For now, the Golden Pacific Powerlink remains in the planning and environmental review stage, with SDG&E continuing to hold open houses and virtual town halls to gather feedback. No route has been finalized. But the utility has already begun contacting some homeowners and landowners about surveying their property — a sign that the process is moving forward even as opposition builds.

The real decision point will come when SDG&E files its formal application with the CPUC, expected before the end of this year. That filing will kick off a more formal environmental review and public comment process — and, if Temecula’s track record with past transmission projects is any indication, a long fight is likely just getting started.