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

Portland, Ore. - The Bonneville Power Administration will hold a public meeting to solicit public feedback about a proposed high-voltage transmission line it is considering building between Garfield County and Walla Walla County, Wash.  The line would further enhance BPA’s ability to more reliably transmit power to major areas where it is needed. 

“We take our commitment to be accountable to the people of the Northwest 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.”

A number of power producers, including several representing large wind projects, have asked to interconnect their generation with the BPA system in the area.  BPA has determined that there is not enough available transmission capacity to accommodate the requests.  Building this line would enable BPA to meet the requests for transmission and allow additional power to flow between areas east of the Cascade Mountains to heavily populated areas in the west.  The proposed line also would provide room for additional growth in the area and support overall transmission system reliability.

BPA is considering two potential routes (see project map): http://www.efw.bpa.gov/environmental_services/Document_Library/Central_Ferry-Lower_Monumental/CentralFerry_LowerMonument_NoticeMap.pdf for the proposed line, as well as a no action alternative.  Each potential alternative runs from BPA’s Central Ferry Substation in Garfield County, Wash., to its Lower Monumental Substation in Walla Walla County, Wash. 

The BPA-sponsored meeting will be held Monday, July 13 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Starbuck School Gymnasium, 717 Tucannon Street, Starbuck, Wash.  Individuals who cannot attend the meeting can learn about the proposed transmission line at http://www.efw.bpa.gov/environmental_services/Document_Library/Central_Ferry-Lower_Monumental/. 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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