SAN DIEGO, Oct. 10, 2002 — San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E) proposed Valley Rainbow Interconnect transmission line will help San Diego County reach its full economic potential through 2020, according to a new economic study.
Titled Economic Impact and Benefit Analysis of the Valley Rainbow Interconnect, the study was prepared by The London Group Realty Advisors, Inc. with research assistance from the University of San Diego (USD). Leading economists at the Milken Institute in Los Angeles provided a peer review, and the study was commissioned and paid for by SDG&E.
“Reliable power and economic prosperity are inextricably linked,” said Gary London, President of the London Group and author of the study. “The Valley-Rainbow Interconnect project gives San Diego the electricity it needs to power its future and meet its full economic potential through the year 2020.”
The study evaluated the short-and long-term economic benefits associated with the construction and operation of the transmission line, which will connect San Diego and Riverside Counties.
Long-term economic benefits are linked to the reliable delivery of power in San Diego County as the local population increases. By 2020, it is anticipated that an additional one million people will live in San Diego County, creating greater demands for electricity each year. Access to reliable electricity will be needed to meet San Diego’s full economic potential. As a result, the following long-term economic benefits in San Diego County are linked to electricity from the Valley Rainbow project:
— $7 billion annually in consumer spending
— $1 billion annually in property tax
— $190 million annually in sales tax
— 500,000 new jobs from 2006-2020
“More than 500,000 new jobs will be linked to power flowing over the Valley Rainbow Interconnect transmission line,” said San Diego County Supervisor Pam Slater. “The expeditious approval and construction of this project is critical so the long-term economic viability of San Diego is protected.”
Short-term benefits are related to the construction of the project. More than $114 million dollars will be spent in the region during construction. USD researchers, using a sophisticated economic multiplier called the IMPLAN Model, found that the project will yield the following short-term benefits:
— 1,766 new jobs during construction
— $80 million in increased employee earnings
— $185 million in total business output
“The short-term economic contributions of constructing the Valley-Rainbow Interconnect alone will be $185 million,” said Julie Meier Wright, President and CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation and Co-Chairperson of Southern Californians for Valley Rainbow. “The entire regional community will benefit from this short-term boost to the economy.”
The Valley Rainbow Interconnect project is a 500,000-volt transmission line proposed by SDG&E to meet projected demands for electricity in San Diego and Southern Orange Counties. The project will deliver reliable and competitively-priced electricity throughout Southern California, and it is currently being reviewed by the California Public Utilities Commission.
The study was released Thursday at a news conference sponsored by Southern Californians for Valley Rainbow (SCVR), a broad-based coalition of business leaders, labor unions, statewide trade groups, elected officials and private individuals in support of the project.
SCVR was formed to support the expeditious approval and construction of the Valley Rainbow Interconnect transmission line. The collective membership of individuals and groups supporting SCVR exceeds one people million in California. For more information, visit www.supportvri.com .
Source: Southern Californians for Valley Rainbow
