MANTECA — After a second court loss, local irrigation directors have decided to abandon a lawsuit against the county commission that denied their bid to become a retail electricity provider for Manteca, Escalon and Ripon.

The South San Joaquin Irrigation District will instead focus on winning over politicians, bringing its electricity application back before the San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission, in hopes that new commissioners will produce a different outcome.

The district’s 2006 application was rejected 4-1 by commissioners, two of whom are still serving on LAFCo, after Pacific Gas and Electric Co. argued that the plan would lead to the district using eminent domain to seize its power lines and substations.

The district sued, arguing that it did not need LAFCo’s blessing to proceed with the electricity plan.

But the lawsuit was denied in county court in 2007, and again last week by the California Third District Court of Appeal.

District directors voted against taking the lawsuit to the state Supreme Court during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, April 29, calling instead for the district to reapply to the LAFCo.

The district's attorney, Steve Emrick, said a second appeal was unlikely to succeed.

“We considered the chance of it being accepted (by the Supreme Court) and I don’t think the chances were very good,” Emrick said. “With that in mind, we thought we’d take a different tack.”

Public agencies can resubmit an application to LAFCo after waiting one year, but it will still take the commission a few months to process it before it comes to a vote, LAFCo executive director Jim Glaser said.

LAFCo’s vote to deny the district’s 2006 electricity bid was seen by many as a political win for PG&E, which had set up a lobbying group called “Stop The Power Grab” to campaign against the district’s plan.

Under that plan, the district would buy up PG&E power lines — using eminent domain if PG&E was unwilling — and deliver electricity from its series of hydroelectric dams directly to local homes and business, instead of selling that power wholesale to PG&E.

Although an attorney told commissioners they could not deny the district’s bid based on concerns about eminent domain, several said eminent domain was indeed a factor.

This time the irrigation district is likely to put more pressure on commissioners, who are drawn from local governments.

General Manager Jeff Shields said the district expected another political battle with PG&E over the new application, but he believed SSJID had picked up public support since 2006.

“I know this community supports SSJID and I don’t think we have to outspend PG&E (in a campaign) to demonstrate that,” Shields said.

PG&E spokeswoman Nicole Tam said the power giant would fight a second LAFCo application because it would lead to a hostile takeover.

“Our facilities are not for sale. We are not a willing seller,” Tam said.
Tam chided the district for the money it spent on a plan that has yet to produce any results.

“SSJID has already spent over $8 million…. They were denied at LAFCo, denied at the county court and denied at the appeals court,” Tam said. “The irrigation district … should focus on water.”

Commissioners that have since joined LAFCo may be less receptive to PG&E’s arguments this time around.

The commission now includes Stockton Mayor Ed Chavez, who recently called for the city to replace PG&E as the local electricity provider, and Manteca councilman Jack Snyder, who represents the largest town within the irrigation district’s boundaries.