Lake Tahoe, CA – December 3, 2013.  California Pacific Electric Company (CalPeco, dba Liberty Utilities) is scheduled to present before the Tahoe Regional Planning Commission’s (TRPA) Advisory Planning Commission tomorrow, Wednesday, December 4th at 9:30 a.m.  The public meeting will take place at the TRPA offices at 128 Market Street, Stateline, Nevada.

Liberty Utilities President Mike Smart will present an overview of the utility’s proposed 625/650 Electric Lines Upgrade project which is currently under review for permitting purposes.  The project location is primarily in northeastern Placer and southeastern Nevada counties.

The project proposal seeks to rebuild two major transmission lines, known as the 625 and 650 power lines, which primarily serve the North Shore of Lake Tahoe.  They are some of the oldest electric lines in California.

As far back as the 1980s, the need to upgrade these two power lines was identified.  When CalPeco purchased the NV Energy service territory in early 2011, it acquired these aging lines and, after confirming the need for improvements, began the process to upgrade the system.

Plans were filed to upgrade the existing 625 and 650 power lines and associated substations from 60 kilovolt (kV) to 120 kV to allow the entire transmission loop to operate at 120 kV.  This upgraded closed loop system will allow for greater load transfer and switching ability resulting in better reliability for Liberty’s customers.

“Right now if something adverse happens to the lines during winter peak load season—for any number of reasons—the aging power lines are especially vulnerable,” explained President Smart.  “By upgrading the lines, we significantly increase our ability to improve reliability.”

Smart emphasizes that even without any new load growth, the current system in the winter is at its capacity and reliability limits. 

“We hit a new peak last winter that was 20 MW higher than our previous peak,” Smart added. “The transmission system was stressed at that time, and we anticipate that we could experience that same scenario again.  For proper operation, the system needs to be rebuilt to avoid permanent damage to the lines.”

The TRPA, the U.S. Forest Service and the California Public Utilities Commission released their draft environmental analysis for the project which is available online on the TRPA site at http://www.trpa.org/get-involved/major-projects/  The TRPA is accepting written comments on the document through January 7, 2014.  Information on how to submit comments and/or questions is provided on the site.