SACRAMENTO, CA – On September 10th, the California State Legislature sent a strong message to Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu to keep energy jobs in California. Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 13 by Senator Juan Vargas and co-authored by Assemblymember V. Manuel Pérez calls on the Obama Administration to reject Sempra Energy’s request for a cross-border transmission line to outsource renewable energy production to Mexico.
Jack Buckhorn, President of the California State Association of Electrical Workers, applauded the action, “Sempra’s plan to ship green energy jobs over the border instead of building projects here where we have renewable resources and need to put people back to work rubs salt in the wounds of California electricians during the worst economic recession of our lifetime.”
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 569 Business Manager, Johnny Simpson agreed, “With construction unemployment at its highest in a generation, we can’t afford to outsource even one job as Sempra is proposing to do. With SJR 13 Californians are sending a powerful message to Washington DC that this flawed proposal is the wrong direction to take. We should not be outsourcing jobs when we can build renewable energy projects and sustainable careers here.
Sempra Energy has asked the Department of Energy for a Presidential Permit to construct a cross-border transmission line, known as Energia Sierra Juarez, between Mexico and California to enable the company to import electricity into California from energy projects in Mexico. Energy Secretary Steven Chu will decide later this year whether or not to allow Sempra’s proposal to proceed.
