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BPA Plans Transmission Line in Southwest Washington by Jim DiPeso Examiner, November 2, 2009

The Bonneville Power Administration plans to build a 500-kilovolt transmission line between two new substations in Castle Rock, Wash. at the northern end and Troutdale, Ore., at the line's southern terminus.

BPA says the 70-mile line is needed to help serve growing loads in the greater Portland and southwest Washington areas. If the line is not built, BPA officials say, the area would be at greater risk of blackouts.

BPA also said that reinforcing the transmission system along the I-5 corridor would enable it to bring in wind-generated electricity from eastern Washington and Oregon.

BPA's timetable is to hold scoping meetings in the coming week, draft an environmental impact statement by 2011, and finalize its project alternative by 2012. Upcoming meetings include sessions in Camas, Wash., on November 3, Gresham, Ore., on November 5, and Vancouver on November 7.

For details, including times and places of the meetings, click here. Comments can be submitted online until November 23.

BPA, which wholesales federal power in the Pacific Northwest, operates a 15,000-mile transmission system in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana.