SSJID was establishing in 1909 to provide irrigation water for 72,000 acres of agricultural area surrounding Escalon, Ripon, and Manteca, California.
“The project’s main goal was to stabilize electrical costs, which can spike substantially in summer months given local time of use (TOU) metering,” said SSJID Utility Systems Director Don Battles.
SSJID updates and maintains its extensive irrigation system during the winter season, shortly after the area's almond harvest concludes each year in October.
It is also building a pressurized pipeline system to augment open irrigation canals in the southwest corner of the district south of Manteca.
In 2009, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously approved a resolution finding that the proposed purchase would not significantly impact the remaining PG&E electric ratepayers.