Open house meeting on SDG&E pipeline is Sept. 16

An open house for Poway and Rancho Bernardo residents who want to find out more about a proposed natural gas pipeline that will run down Pomerado Road will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16 at the Poway Hampton Inn, 14068 Stowe Drive.

Experts will be on hand to provide information about the proposed pipeline and how it will affect Poway and Rancho Bernardo residents when construction begins in 2017.

There will be no formal presentation, so residents can feel free to come anytime between 3 and 7 p.m. to find out information on the project.

SDG&E and SoCalGas are proposing to build a 47-mile, 36-inch natural gas transmission pipeline from the Rainbow Metering Station near the Riverside County line to Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar.

This pipeline will run down Pomerado Road through parts of Rancho Bernardo and Poway.

The pipeline will take over transmission function for pipeline 1600, a 54-mile, 16-inch pipeline built in 1949 which currently transmits about 10 percent of the natural gas used in San Diego County. The other 90 percent is transmitted by a separate, 30-inch pipeline built in the 1960s.

Recently enacted pipeline safety regulations require that SDG&E either pressure test or replace the 1949 pipeline in order to continue to use it as a transmission line.

Pressure testing the line would be possible, but would probably require taking the pipeline out of service for at least a year for testing, which might impact customers, said Jennifer Ramp, senior communications manager for SDG&E’s media and employees communication department. Ramp said that the 1949 pipeline is regularly inspected and is in safe, working order, but has never been pressure-tested because that was not required when it was installed in 1949. The 1960s pipeline was pressure tested when it was installed.

Installing the new pipeline would not only enhance the safety of the natural gas system by implementing the new regulatory requirements and state-of-the-art equipment, said Ramp, but it would also take some of the strain off the 1960s pipeline that currently transmits the vast majority of the region’s natural gas. It will also allow more renewable energy sources like wind and solar energy to be integrated onto SDG&E’s grid.

SDG&E plans to submit its application for the pipeline project sometime this fall. A review by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) would then be done over the next two years. If approved, construction could begin in 2017 and be finished sometime in 2020.