Written by Justin Culetu
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria announced that he will be rejecting San Diego Gas & Electric’s bid for the city’s gas and electric utilities contract. After an informational meeting with the City Council Members, Gloria touted the lone bid as “unresponsive.”
The minimum amount for the bid was revealed to be $80 million, which was set by former Mayor Kevin Faulconer. During a meeting last week, many callers asked the council to request a one-year extension in order to get the new mayor as well as five new councilmembers up to speed on the bid. Mayor Gloria did mention that he will be extending the current agreement that SDG&E and the city have until new opportunities are presented, but not necessarily for a year.
According to Mayor Gloria, the one-year extension called for by the council was not a good use of the city’s resources which are already strained due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The council was split in terms of reactions with some members showing frustration at the decision while others asked for patience.
Since 1920, SDG&E has been the gas and electric utility for San Diego. The current agreement between the company and the city, which was signed in 1970, expires on January 17th and the council does not meet again until January 12th.
