Transcript:

Hi Norco, I’m Mayor Robin Grundmeyer, and I want to give you an important update on the Riverside Transmission Reliability Project—better known as the RTRP.

As you may know, the City of Norco has been advocating to underground the RTRP for several years. Together, we’ve made real progress—through media coverage, community engagement, and by bringing members of the California Public Utilities Commission right here to see firsthand what’s at stake.

Unfortunately, Southern California Edison recently sent the City a letter stating they plan to move forward with a 155 foot lattice steel transmission tower in Norco. Their schedule includes grading this spring, foundation work this summer, and installing the tower by the end of the year.

Their letter made one thing unmistakably clear: SCE does not intend to revisit undergrounding—despite the well documented wildfire and wind risks in the Santa Ana River corridor…or the repeated pleas from our community.

In response, the City sent a formal letter back to SCE, and we were unequivocal. Norco cannot accept a design that places high voltage overhead lines in one of California’s most fire prone, wind prone, and hardest to reach emergency corridors. These overhead lines would directly limit aerial firefighting—the very tool our firefighters rely on when wind driven fires move fast.

Our message to SCE was simple: public safety comes first. We’ve asked them to immediately pause construction in Norco and return with a true undergrounding focused alternative.

We continue to stress that this fight isn’t just about power lines. It’s about wildfire risk. It’s about protecting the safety of our residents, their animals, and their property.
We’ve all seen the devastation caused by fires in nearby communities. Our commitment to this cause has not wavered. And frankly, we’re disheartened to see work already underway in the project area, including within the Hidden Valley Wildlife Preserve. We are calling on Southern California Edison to do the right thing: underground this project.

This fight has been long, and there’s no quick fix, but your City Council remains committed for the long haul. Changing the design of an approved transmission project is complex—but we will continue using every resource and every channel available to us to push for undergrounding.

Thank you for staying engaged. Your continued involvement is essential to ensuring that safety starts underground.

Safety starts underground.
Stop the fires. Bury the wires.