BPA invites public to provide feedback on proposed transmission line
500-kilovolt line would help integrate wind and reinforce BPA high-voltage network

Portland, Ore. -  The Bonneville Power Administration will hold two public meetings to solicit public feedback about a proposed high-voltage transmission line it is considering building between The Dalles, Ore., and Goldendale, Wash.  The line would further enhance BPA’s ability to more reliably transmit power to major areas where it is needed.  It will also allow BPA to provide firm transmission service to utilities and power generators, including wind generators and power marketers, in southeast Washington and northeast Oregon. 

“We take our charge as responsible stewards of the environment very seriously,” said Greg Delwiche, BPA vice president for Environment, Fish and Wildlife.  “An important part of that process is interacting with the public to learn more about their transmission line siting concerns and provide them with critical information to help them understand both the rationale for the proposed line and the siting options.”

BPA is considering three potential routes (see link to map) for the proposed line and a no action alternative.  Each of the potential alternatives runs from BPA’s Big Eddy Substation just east of the Dalles, Ore., to the proposed Knight Substation, which would be built west of Goldendale, Wash. 

The two BPA-sponsored meetings will be held at the following locations:

Tuesday, June 30, 2009                        Wednesday, July 1, 2009  
4 - 7 p.m.                                           4 – 7 p.m.
Shilo Inn Suites Hotel - The Dalles           Goldendale High School
3223 Bret Clodfelter Way                       525 E. Simcoe Drive
The Dalles, Ore. 97058                          Goldendale, Wash. 98620

Individuals who cannot attend the meetings can learn about the proposed transmission line at:  http://www.efw.bpa.gov/environmental_services/Document_Library/Big_Eddy-Knight/.  Information on how to comment on the proposed project is also available at that site.

BPA is a not-for-profit federal electric utility that operates a high-voltage transmission grid comprising more than 15,000 miles of lines and associated substations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.  It also markets more than a third of the electricity consumed in the Pacific Northwest. The power is produced at 31 federal dams operated by the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation and one nuclear plant in the Northwest and is sold to more than 140 Northwest utilities.  BPA purchases power from seven wind projects and has more than 2,000 megawatts of wind interconnected to its transmission system.

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