9 - McClatchy-Tribune Business News Formerly Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Danielle Sottosanti The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson

Oro Valley residents may have to endure longer power outages, such as those caused by storms, if the town and Tucson Electric Power Co. can't work out a solution for two overloaded circuits.

TEP needs to build a new line to relieve the burden on the two overstressed circuits -- but a town ordinance requires that new lines be placed underground.

TEP is willing to pay to install overhead lines, but asks that the town or another entity pay the difference in the cost between overhead and underground lines, Steve Lynn, TEP's vice president of communications and governmental relations, said at an Oro Valley Town Council study session.

Placing the mile-long utility line underground would cost about $433,500 more than a new above-ground line, according to TEP's estimate, said Sarah More, Oro Valley planning and zoning administrator.

It would cost TEP $262,500 to put an overhead line along the same route, TEP spokesman Joe Salkowski said.

Consumers' use of electricity has taxed the circuits at the intersections of West Tangerine Road and North La Cholla Boulevard and West Tangerine and North La Canada Drive during the past two summers, according to TEP.

Those circuits are unable to be used to switch power around when power outages occur. TEP tries to switch power around through the circuit system so customers who have lost power will regain it while the company fixes the problem, Lynn said.

But stressed circuits cannot handle the extra load such a switch brings, he said.

"What that means is, for future outages, existing customers in town may have to endure longer periods of outage as we take the time necessary to fix the problem on that circuit," Lynn said.

Oro Valley Vice Mayor Terry Parish said TEP could have warned the town about the issue ahead of time.

"I think that this is a problem that could have been foreseen a long, long time ago. I'd assume that (TEP) saw this problem was coming," Parish said.

"It puts the town in a tough position. What can the town do? Either we lower our standards or help (TEP) pay for it," he said.

TEP plans to run a new utility line along West Tangerine Road to connect the two overloaded circuits, so that each circuit could back up the other.

But TEP's original plan to use already existing, above-ground power poles on the south side of the road won't work, Lynn said.

"They're not tall enough and they would need to be spaced differently to accommodate the higher voltage," TEP's Sal-kowski said.

Instead, TEP's current proposal, which it has not yet formally submitted to the town, is to build a new, one-mile, above-ground line along the same route.

"We are certainly willing to partner but we cannot -- and I might say will not -- be able to afford the kind of infrastructure differential the line ordinance provides," Lynn said.

If TEP were to pay the difference between the cost of overhead lines and underground lines, "in effect, the rest of our customers would be subsidizing the work in Oro Valley. That is neither fair nor in our rate structure to do so," he said.

The Arizona Corporation Commission sets TEP's rates across the company's entire service area, he said.

"Our rates are based on the cost of our system, which is an above-ground system," Salkow-ski said.

"It would be difficult if not impossible to get that kind of cost into our rate structure," Lynn said.

"When the (Arizona) Corporation Commission reviews our costs, they are looking to keep our costs reasonable and low as possible because they don't like to raise rates any more than they have to," he said.

TEP's rates are frozen through 2008, based on an agreement the company made with the Corporation Commission in 1999.

"TEP has just posted some pretty healthy profits but at the same time, I have to be realistic about the negative effects (the town will face) if the problem isn't addressed," Parish said.

TEP cannot construct an above-ground utility line along Tangerine Road unless Oro Valley first grants it a conditional use permit.

"We're certainly hopeful that the conditional use permits will be granted," Salkowski said.

"I do think that it was good that we got some direction (such as) that it's not a good idea to do double poles on Tangerine Road," More said of the study session with the Town Council.

Parish said the Town Council will be looking at solutions for the overloaded circuits.

"We don't have the funding we would like to have to put the lines underground (right now)," he said. "That's ultimately our goal."

--Contact reporter Danielle Sottosanti at 618-1922 or at dsottosanti@azstarnet.com.