SDG&E resolves construction disputes related to 117 mile long Sunrise Powerlink electrical transmission project

Client(s) Sempra Energy

Jones Day defended San Diego Gas & Electric, a division of Sempra Energy, against more than $200 million in claims asserted by the contractor responsible for constructing the Sunrise Powerlink, a 117 mile high voltage transmission line linking San Diego County and Imperial County. The construction contractor asserted claims for acceleration, lost productivity, and alleged out of scope work and contended that the owner had abandoned the contract such that the contractor was no longer bound by the lump sum price of the project. Much of the dispute related to the contractor's claimed cost of compliance with more than 400 environmental mitigation measure, including blackout periods when construction could not be performed. According to publicly available filings, at one point the contractor had booked $165 million based on its claim against the owner. With a JAMS arbitration less than a year away, the parties settled the action for a fraction of what the contractor had been originally booked on its claim.