San Diego Gas & Electric history

The movement for this work began in May, 1882, when a committee of the city council was appointed and made a report on the city’s needs.

The first use, of coal was on April 19, 1883.

The first franchise granted was to Doctor John McCoy, of Pasadena, October 18, 1885.

During 1886, as a result of the land boom and increasing population in San Diego, the company’s business increased rapidly, and in December of that year, the directors decided to enlarge the gas plant.

The road was opened for business on January 1, 1887.

The old Jenney arc light machines were moved to the plant when it was completed in 1888, and an incandescent light generator was added later.

The power house was built in 1889, at a cost of $30,000, and was placed at the head of the canyon on Fourth and Spruce Streets, where some remains of the cement foundations may still be seen.

The line was formally opened on June 7, 1890.

After being for some time in the hands of a receiver, its property and franchise were sold to an electric railway company, in January, 1892.

The first manager was Roscoe Howard, who served until July 1, 1905.

The South Park and East Side Railway, an enterprise growing out of the operations of the Bartlett estate under the presidency of E. Bartlett Webster, began active construction in March, 1906.

Early in 1907, it will begin operating 10 miles of interurban track between San Diego and Chula Vista.

Gas service to Coronado, however, was started in 1909.)

In 1910 San Diego Consolidated acquired the United Light, Fuel & Power Co. of San Diego.

In January of 1921 the company purchased the power plant of San Diego Electric Railway Company at Kettner and E Street.

In November 1923 the company, headed by President Robert J. Graf and Chairman John J. O’Brien, contracted to connect its transmission lines with those owned by Southern Sierras Power Company of Pinon, California.

By 1927 the company’s system included two steam electric generating stations, and it had signed an electric power interchange agreement with Southern California Edison Company (SoCal Edison). SoCal Edison was based in Rose-mead, California, and served parts of the Los Angeles area.

The dam was erected by the United States government beginning in 1931 on the Colorado River.

The company began supplying natural gas in September 1932.

The utility’s sales dipped somewhat during the Great Depression, dropping to $6.8 million in 1934, but growth resumed the following year.

In June 1939 the company entered a new agreement to increase the amount of power it exported to its wholesale customers in Tecate, Mexico.

Under local management since 1941, the company’s growth, paralleling that of the communities it serves, has been tremendous by comparison with any previous period in its 75-year history.

In 1943 the Silver Gate steam electric generating station was completed.

The population of SDG&E’s service area had grown to 620,000 by 1949, and its sales were up to $23.3 million.

SDG&E’s first turbogenerator came into service in 1954.

By the end of 1955, the company was serving 250,138 electric customers and 196,597 gas customers, and its investment in plant, property, and equipment exceeded $187,000,000.

H.G. Dillon became president in 1961, succeeding E.D. Sherwin, who remained on the board.

The second South Bay unit began operation in June 1962.

SDG&E owned 20% of the plant, located in San Onofre, California; SoCal Edison owned 80%. The plant went into operation in 1967.

By 1970, its ninth consecutive year of record earnings, it was one of the fastest growing utilities in the United States.

In April Robert Morris, president since 1975, was elected chairman of the board of directors, and Thomas A. Page, formerly executive vice president and chief operating officer, was elected president.

In March 1979, needing cash, it sold a generating unit to a group of banks to raise $132 million, then leased back the unit since it needed the output.

In 1980 inflation, a time lag between application for a rate increase, action by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and weather both warmer in winter and cooler in summer contributed to a disastrous year.

There was a positive development in December 1981, when the company received CPUC approval to construct the eastern interconnection transmission line, later named the Southwest Powerlink, that connected SDG&E with less expensive, coal-fired power generated in Arizona and New Mexico.

San Onofre Unit 1 returned to operation in November for the first time since closing down for engineering modifications in 1982.

In June 1983, work began on the plant.

In 1984 both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s upgraded SDG&E’s bond ratings again.

In 1985 the company had record earnings of $3.25 per share, and San Diego itself continued to enjoy record residential growth.

In March 1986 SDG&E received conditional approval from the CPUC to diversify into real estate, utility services, and energy products.

The experimental Heber geothermal plant was shut down in 1987 because its production costs were too high.

In June 1988 SDG&E agreed in principle to merge with Tucson Electric Power Company (TEP), a company with which it had a long-term power sale agreement made possible by the Southwest Powerlink.

In December 1989 SDG&E approached the CPUC to begin the licensing process for a new two-unit, 460-megawatt, combined-cycle power plant.

In February 1990 California state Attorney General John Van de Kamp and an advocacy division of the CPUC stated their opposition to the merger.

On February 1, 1991, two judges with the CPUC had not yet voted.

In another move to augment its power resources, SDG&E anticipated returning its Silver Gate plant to service in 1992 due to a growing customer base.

In 1998, Sempra’s 12,000 employees served approximately 21 million consumers across 27,000 square miles in Southern California.

The Sempra Foundation was founded in 2007 as an organization dedicated to helping communities through grants, volunteering and employee giving.

In May 2008, Energía Costa Azul in Baja California began commercial operations, making it one of the first LNG receipt terminals on the West Coast.

In July 2009, the Cameron LNG receipt terminal near Lake Charles, Louisiana, successfully completed performance testing and began commercial operations.

On March 11, 2010, the CPUC issued its decision setting forth the process and rules for the limited re-opening of DA which resulted in a 4 year phase in schedule beginning April 11, 2010.

In June 2012, SDG&E’s Sunrise Powerlink was completed and put into service.

On May 7, 2014, Sempra’s stock price reached $100 for the first time, closing at $100.41.

In August 2017, IEnova signed long-term contracts with a subsidiary of Valero Energy Corp. for the storage capacity of the liquid fuels marine terminal to be constructed in Veracruz and two inland storage facilities to be constructed in Puebla and Mexico City.

In May 2019, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC acquired InfraREIT, and Sempra acquired a 50% limited-partnership interest in Sharyland Utilities, LLC, expanding the company’s presence in Texas.

Also in 2020, Energía Costa Azul’s liquefaction export project (ECA LNG) reached a final investment decision for the project in Baja California, Mexico.

In 2021, SDG&E completed its multi-year project to harden its infrastructure in the Cleveland National Forest.