power tower

In light of the recent successful roll-out of broadband over power line (BPL) to a small number of customers in three small Texas towns, thereby proving at least the technical viability of this method of delivering fast Internet connectivity over existing power lines, it seemed reasonable for Broadband over Power Line World to investigate the question of whether any of the three large investor-owned utility companies in California might be planning similar, but much larger, deployments of this competitive new technology to their many millions of customers.

There are three large investor-owned utilities providing electric power to Californians: Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE).

A PG&E spokesperson said yesterday that PG&E was "not interested" is discussing whatever plans for BPL that they might have. SCE would not say anything on the record about their level of interest or involvement in BPL, either.

Not so at San Diego Gas & Electric, where corporate spokesperson Ed Van Herik, when asked about SDGE's position on BPL, emphatically told Broadband over Power Line World, "We're looking into it."

You can hear Mr. Van Herik admitting, on the record, that San Diego Gas & Electric is actively investigating the possibility of using its electric-power distribution network to also provide its customers with broadband Internet connectivity by clicking here.