Project applies with Arizona commission for high-voltage transmission line
The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz. --Oct. 9
Oct. 9--The Salt River Project has filed an application with the Arizona Corporation Commission to build a high-voltage transmission line from western Pinal County to east Mesa to serve rapidly growing areas of the East Valley.
The $195 million Pinal West-to-Southeast Valley/Browning project is a joint venture of SRP and five other utilities to route electricity from the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station west of Phoenix through Pinal County to SRP's existing Browning Substation on Signal Butte Road in east Mesa.
SRP is asking the commission to issue a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility for the Pinal West to Browning portion of the project, which would be 130 to 150 miles in length, depending on the final route selected.
If there are no hitches, the line could be operating by 2011.
The utilities are proposing to build the line in three phases, one extending from the Pinal West Substation to the existing Santa Rosa Substation northeast of Casa Grande, a second looping around the south side of Casa Grande and then north to a new substation called RS-19 east of Queen Creek, and a final segment along the west side of the Central Arizona Project Canal to the Browning Substation.
Although that's the preferred route, the application offers alternate routes for sections of the line if commissioners don't like the utilities' plan.
Routes for major power lines are often contentious, with opposition frequently voiced by neighboring residents. Property owners in the Queen Creek area expressed some uneasiness over the preferred route at an open house held by SRP in July, saying the line could have an impact on the value of their property.
Public hearings on the project will be scheduled by the Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee, which will make a recommendation to the commission. The commission will make a final determination on the route and whether to grant a certificate. SRP officials said the line is needed because of rapid growth in the Queen Creek and Johnson Ranch areas, as well as Apache Junction and Gold Canyon Ranch. By routing the 500 kilovolt line through Pinal County, it also will be able to serve growing areas around Maricopa, Casa Grande, Coolidge and Florence, said project manager Dan Hawkins. "This is truly a regional project to get power to growing areas in the East Valley and Pinal County, serving everyone with one line," he said.
Currently, one 500 kilovolt line runs from Palo Verde to the Mesa/Gilbert/Apache Junction area, following the Western Canal through south Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa, he said. "But it's getting pretty well tapped out." he said.
In addition to serving Pinal County, the new line will provide redundancy, allowing power to continue flowing to the East Valley if one line should be shut down, Hawkins said.
The first section of the new line from the Hassayampa Substation near the Palo Verde plant to the Pinal West Substation has already been approved by the commission and is in final design. It is scheduled for completion in late 2006, Hawkins said.
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