About PowerSov

I created PowerSov after looking into San Diego's electricity rates. The numbers were striking: SDG&E customers pay an average of 40+ cents per kWh, the highest among California's major utilities and nearly double the national average of 18 cents per kWh.

The more I researched, the more I realized many San Diegans don't know how their rates compare. Sacramento's municipal utility (SMUD) charges around 16-17 cents per kWh, less than half of SDG&E's rates. For a household using 500 kWh monthly, that difference adds up to over $1,400 per year.

Meanwhile, SDG&E reported $891 million in profit in 2024. The California Public Utilities Commission has approved rate increases of 5-7% annually through 2027, with wildfire mitigation costs now comprising up to 24% of some utilities' revenue requirements.

Why "Power Sovereignty"?

True power sovereignty for San Diegans is a long way off. But we have to start somewhere.

This isn't just about installing solar panels or shifting your laundry to off-peak hours. Those things help, but they don't address the fundamental problem: a private monopoly extracting nearly a billion dollars annually from ratepayers while a captured regulatory agency rubber-stamps rate increases. The "free market" isn't coming to save us when there's no market at all, just one company with guaranteed profits and no real accountability.

What we need is better public management of an essential service. Municipal utilities across California prove it's possible: SMUD, LADWP, and dozens of smaller public utilities deliver reliable power at half the cost, without shareholders demanding ever-higher returns.

What this site will explore

I plan to dig into a lot of topics here: the dysfunction of the public-private partnership model (or is it public-private abuse?), what solar options actually make sense for homeowners, plug-in solar systems for renters who can't modify their homes, community solar programs, battery storage economics, and how community choice aggregators like San Diego Community Power fit into the picture.

The goal is to give San Diegans the information they need to understand what's happening and what alternatives exist, even if the path to real change is long.

Want to actually do something?

If you want to actually do something about San Diego's electricity situation, Public Power SD is the movement to join. They're the ones organizing, advocating, and pushing for municipal power in San Diego. This website is just an informational resource.