San Diego Council takes up public power study as SDG&E rate case adds urgency
San Diego councilmembers are reviewing a public power feasibility report as SDG&E’s 2028 rate case renews pressure over utility bills.
San Diego City Council listed a Phase II public power feasibility report for its Monday, June 22, 2026 meeting, putting a long-running question about local electricity control back in front of City Hall.
The item is not a final vote to create a public utility, and city materials say San Diego is not municipalizing the electric system at this time. Instead, the council discussion centers on whether a possible public agency model deserves more study, what it could cost, and what risks would come with trying to replace part of San Diego Gas & Electric’s local electricity delivery role inside city limits.
The timing matters because SDG&E filed its 2028 General Rate Case with state regulators on June 15, 2026. For households, renters, small businesses and large energy users, the two processes are separate but connected by the same practical concern: what San Diegans will pay for electricity in the years ahead.
What public power would mean here
In this context, public power does not mean the city is taking over all energy service next month. The city-commissioned study looks at a municipal electric utility structure focused on electricity delivery infrastructure. City background materials say the study assumes San Diego Community Power would continue as the electricity supplier, while the possible public entity would focus on delivery operations.
The June 22 council preview describes the Phase II report as part of a multi-phase effort to evaluate the processes, costs, risks and opportunities of establishing a public agency to take on SDG&E electric delivery infrastructure assets within the city.
The city’s public power page says the Phase II report examines costs, revenues, risks and implementation requirements over a 30-year study period. It also says the analysis identifies potential benefits but also significant risks, substantial cost and major complexity.
What is not decided
The key takeaway for residents is that nothing immediate changes for SDG&E customers because of Monday’s council item. Bills, meters, service calls and electric delivery arrangements do not shift simply because the council hears or discusses the report.
City materials say any future municipalization effort would require multiple additional decision points and council actions. The city also says such a process could realistically take 10 to 20 years if leaders ever choose to pursue it.
That means the near-term public value of the hearing is transparency: residents can see what assumptions the city is studying, what concerns councilmembers raise, and whether elected officials ask for more work, a different governance model, or no further action.
The bill debate is still unsettled
KPBS reported in April that the NewGen Strategies & Solutions study estimated a public utility could produce long-term savings, including a potential average of about $500 per customer per year in later years. KPBS also reported that the study estimated the city could face $2.4 billion to $7.6 billion in acquisition costs for required infrastructure.
Those figures should be read as projections, not guarantees. SDG&E has disputed the study, calling it flawed and arguing that it understates costs and risks tied to safety, reliability, infrastructure separation and regulatory requirements.
That disagreement is central to the policy question. If savings depend on asset valuation, financing assumptions, regulatory treatment, staffing, reliability planning and governance, then small changes in the assumptions could matter a lot for customers and taxpayers.
The rate case adds pressure
SDG&E’s 2028 General Rate Case is a separate proceeding before the California Public Utilities Commission. The utility’s rate-case page lists docket number A.26-06-015 and a filing date of Monday, June 15, 2026.
NBC 7 San Diego reported that the filing seeks an 8.6% rate increase beginning in 2028 and, if approved by regulators, would raise gas and electric rates by an average of $22.48 per month for a typical homeowner.
For San Diego residents, the practical watch points now are clear: what direction councilmembers give after the Phase II report, whether the city funds or requests additional analysis, how public comment develops, and how the CPUC handles SDG&E’s rate request. The public power debate is long-term, but the pressure from utility costs is already part of household and business budgeting.
Sources
- City of San Diego, The People's Business June 18, 2026 council preview
- SDG&E 2028 General Rate Case page
- KPBS report on San Diego public power study and SDG&E response
- NBC 7 San Diego report on SDG&E 2028 rate request
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