An LS Power spokesman says the company is “very open” to discussing potential alternative power plant sites in Chula Vista. This comes after the Chula Vista City Council on Tuesday effectively killed the company’s chances of building a new power plant on the city’s bay front.
The company would consider building a plant to meet peak demand as well as one that would meet the region’s everyday power needs, company spokesman David Hicks said.
Hicks would not say whether the company considered the city’s resolution a fatal blow, whether the company plans to turn to litigation or whether it has plans to lobby port commissioners, who are expected to vote on the South Bay energy issue in early March. (The Unified Port of San Diego owns the existing plant and the land it sits on, so it has the final say about what will happen there.)
“We’re just going to evaluate our project and consider all the options,” Hicks said.
LS Power’s proposed bay-front power plant hit a wall last month when San Diego Gas & Electric publicly rejected any need for the electricity that would be generated there. SDG&E says it needs new electricity to meet the region’s peak demand times — those hot summer days — not the region’s everyday needs.
SDG&E will request proposals for 1,000 megawatts of new power within the next two months.
Bill Powers, a San Diego-based engineer and frequent SDG&E critic, said even if the South Bay replacement option is killed, LS Power still has options. It could still submit a different proposal to SDG&E, which wants the new power by 2010.
“LS Power could always say it’s willing to put peaking power where it’s wanted,” Powers said. “There’s nothing that prevents LS Power from responding to that request for bids with another package.”
Stephanie Donovan, an SDG&E spokeswoman, said the company encourages LS Power — and all other potential energy providers — to participate.
“We’re putting our net out there,” Donovan said, “and certainly are looking forward to seeing what the bids are.”