AB 854 on hold, IID continues divestment planning
A state committee put Assembly Bill 854 on hold for the next two years. IID called it a win.
Eric Ortega, IID Board President, said, “IID welcomes this news because now it allows us to focus on IID’s continued service in the Coachella Valley.”
He said it’s better that way.
“Even if the bill would’ve been killed, the author could still come back with another bill in January,” Ortega said.
Brawley resident Ramon Castro said, “It’s good. They say the bill is now dormant. Technically, it wasn’t killed. The goal was to stop momentum, stop this bill from progressing and moving through the assembly. It’s as good as dead, in my opinion.”
Ortega said the bill blindsided them and immediately threatened to pull out of the area if the bill passed to a congress vote.
“The gun has been removed from IID’s head. As you know, it’s difficult to know what you’re going to do next when you have a gun to your head,” Ortega said.
Now IID has time to plan a divestment strategy for future protection. They said it’s a complicated process.
“There’s an assessment of the entire infrastructure out in the Coachella Valley. There are the various agreements in place for energy. So, to actually execute, we need to have all that together, which would be the plan,” Ortega said.
“IID needs to protect itself. It needs to take all the measures necessary so that it’s not caught in the same situation ever again,” Castro said.
However, Tony Gallegos, El Centro resident, opposes renewing the existing contract to provide Coachella Valley with electricity.
“By us extending it, then they’re going to want one or two directors and then write a bill that says non-voting, but then a year or two make it where they’re going to vote,” Gallegos said.
He recommends to get out now while they can and prevent future attacks.
“We don’t want to lose any of it. We don’t want to lose our five directors. We have a fine board. We don’t need any more on our board. All of sudden, almost after a hundred years, the Coachella Valley is unhappy with our electricity?” Gallegos said.
