Daily Business Report – June 13, 2014
Home Electric Bills to Jump Dramatically
For Small Users of Electricity in San Diego
Small consumers of home electricity will begin paying significantly higher prices as soon as July 1, under a decision Thursday by state utility regulators.
The average monthly bill for small users of electricity in San Diego and southern Orange counties would rise from the end of last year by as much as $7.05, to $49.06, a 17 percent increase, according to the most recent bill estimates filed with regulators by San Diego Gas & Electric.
Power prices for small users of electricity have been held in check for more than a decade. Large users currently pay up to 2½ times as much per kilowatt hour, a disparity that diminishes under the adopted changes.
Large home-energy consumers will see their bills increase by an estimated $18.58, to $364.85 — a 5 percent increase from December.
A moderate energy consumer, meanwhile, would see an $11.41 increase to $100.26, a 12 percent rise.
SDG&E is in the process of calculating upcoming summer bills based on Thursday’s decision and recent revenue approvals by state regulators.
The decision “appropriately shared the pain of the revenue requirement increases among low- and high-end energy customers,” said Mike Campbell, program manager at the Office of Ratepayer Advocates.
More-dramatic residential bill reforms are under discussion for next summer.
— U-T San Diego
San Diego County Gas Prices Lowest Since April
The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County dropped four-tenths of a cent Friday to $4.089, its lowest amount since April 7. The average price has decreased eight of the past nine days and is 3 cents less than one week ago and 10.2 cents lower than one month ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. However, it is 11.2 cents more than one year ago.
“Continued wholesale drops have brought some relief at the pump for drivers,” said Jeffrey Spring of the Automobile Club of Southern Californa. While gas in Southern California is near or at peak demand, at the moment, there are no issues we’ve heard of at local refineries to disrupt supply.”
— City News Service
Mayoral Transition Team Makes its Recommendations
Streamlining the contracting process for infrastructure projects and strengthening San Diego’s primary economic sectors are high on the list of recommendations for governing San Diego made by a bipartisan team that helped Mayor Kevin Faulconer make his transition, officials said Thursday.
Other recommendations include modernizing the city’s website, continuing efforts to recruit and retain police officers, streamlining the permit process to lower the cost of building homes and fast-tracking affordable housing projects, creating a multi-year plan for infrastructure projects, and working with educators to connect students with jobs, Faulconer said.
Many of the suggestions have been incorporated into the budget that will take effect July 1 and others will be developed into policies for the city, the mayor said.
Other recommendations include implementing an open data policy and hiring an open data director, and working with educational institutions to close the skills gap among prospective workers.
The team was co-chaired by Steve Cushman, the vice chairman of the San Diego Convention Center board of directors and former City Council President Tony Young.
— City News Service
Community College District Gets Grant to Give
Students Skills Needed for Growing Industries
The San Diego Community College District has been awarded nearly $1.2 million in state grants to coordinate regional and statewide efforts that prepare students with in-demand skills needed by employers in growing industries.
Grants are distributed through the Doing What Matters for Jobs and the Economy program, which is run through the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, Division of Economic and Workforce Development.
Awards include:
• Two grant extensions totaling $575,000 for a San Diego Miramar College-led effort in the life sciences/biotechnology sector.
• A renewed $200,000 grant for a San Diego City College-led effort to develop training in the information and communication technologies/digital media sector.
• A renewed Advanced Manufacturing grant of $200,000 for a San Diego City College-led effort to develop specialized training, technical consulting, and business development.
•A renewed $200,000-grant for a Miramar College-led effort in the field of advanced transportation and renewables.
Morena Business Center Sells for $9.25 Million
The Morena Business Center, home to current tenants Destination Concepts, European Tile, American Geotechnical and Gemini Energy and Envision, has been sold for $9.25 million. The buyer is SR Commercial, a privately held real estate investment company. The seller was the Feher Family Trust. Morena Business Center consists of three buildings totaling 62,814 square feet. The property includes a spacious showroom. SR Commercial plans to enhance the center’s exterior image and improve the existing interior suites.
Cassidy Turley was the broker in the transaction.
The center is located in the Rose Canyon/Morena District of San Diego at 2620-2640 and 2645 Financial Court.
San Diego a Top Spot for Private Tech Acquisitions
San Diego has been named the third best U.S. metropolitan area for private tech acquisitions, according to VentureBeat. The rankings done by private company research firm PrivCo shows Silicon Valley continuing to reign supreme with 281 acquisitions and the biggest deal of 2013 worth $5.6 billion. San Diego had 21 acquisitions with the biggest deal worth $1.1 billion.
Omnitracs Names President and COO
Fleet management company Omnitracs LLC has named David Post as president and chief operating officer, an executive with close to two decades of experience in the technology industry.
Post previously was with MRI Software LLC. As chief executive officer at MRI, Post led the effort to acquire MRI Software from Intuit Inc. and oversaw the build out and growth of MRI as a stand-alone software company. Prior to MRI, Post served as vice president of customer operations at Sunquest Information Systems, a provider of diagnostic technology for the health care industry. He has also held positions at CIGNA, Kintana, Accenture and Keane Consulting.
Port of San Diego Appoints Chief Policy Adviser
Job Nelson, former chief of staff for San Diego Councilman Lori Zapf, has been appointed chief policy adviser to the Port of San Diego. He will oversee programs and activities related to public policy and governmental relations and represent the port district on legislative, regulatory and intergovernmental matters.
Nelson’s career in public service includes serving as senior policy adviser and deputy chief of staff to former San Diego Mayor Susan Golding and as a policy consultant to the California Senate Minority Leader. Nelson’s private sector positions included assistant to the president for university relations at Point Loma Nazarene University, director at Public Policy Strategies and research analyst at Competitive Edge Research. Nelson holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Point Loma Nazarene University and a master’s degree from Claremont Graduate University.
