The Power San Diego initiative filed a notice of intent to collect signatures to qualify for the November 2024 ballot. Supporters began collecting signatures in December and have until May 2024 to collect approximately 80,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. If they meet this threshold, the issue will be put before voters in the November 2024 general election.

The Power San Diego initiative proposes the City of San Diego take on undetermined billions of dollars in debt to pay for the government takeover of San Diego’s energy grid, giving political appointees a blank check with no limits. If this initiative passes, voters will be left to foot the bill for taking over the energy grid– no matter the ultimate cost, which at this time, has not yet been determined.

There have been no successful instances of a government takeover of an energy grid at this scale, ever. The most recent comparable effort was the City of Chicago. After a detailed feasibility study, the City of Chicago determined to not move forward with the government takeover.

Yes. While the Power San Diego initiative claims to provide full protections for existing International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) utility employees, the IBEW Local 465 isn’t buying it. Other localities that have experienced government takeovers have seen loss of jobs, lower pay, lesser quality jobs, and difficulty filling positions.

Yes. The City of San Diego is currently conducting a separate, $3 million, multi-year study to look at the cost and feasibility of establishing a public power utility, but it is nowhere close to complete. Power San Diego is jumping ahead of the City’s efforts to understand the facts and rushing to force a government takeover of the energy grid before San Diegans know all the facts and data, including the costs to take over.