625/650 Line Upgrade FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the project description?

Liberty Utilities owns, maintains and operates two major electric lines known as the 625 and 650 Electric Lines. These two power lines are configured as part of a continuous loop that primarily serves the areas of Lahontan, Martis Valley, Northstar, Kings Beach, Brockway, Tahoe Vista, Carnelian Bay, Dollar Point, south to Homewood, Tahoe City, Alpine Meadows, and Squaw Valley.  The project would upgrade these major power lines to improve reliability to Liberty’s North Tahoe customers.

Why is the upgrade needed?

The 625 and 650 power lines are some of the oldest lines in the State of California, some constructed as far back as the 1950s.  Currently, if part of the existing closed loop is adversely affected—such as a snow-laden tree branch falling on a portion of the line—the entire system in the North Tahoe area is affected and can result in outages.  Also, during past winter peaks the system has operated at its maximum capacity which stresses the infrastructure and can cause subsequent damage.  Currently, Liberty relies on supplemental power from its emergency diesel generators to reduce the demand on the aging system.

How would the upgrade help?

By upgrading the existing 625 and 650 power lines and associated substations from 60 kilovolts (kV) to 120 kV, the entire North Tahoe electrical loop would operate at 120 kV (poles, wire, insulators will be changed out) and, as a result, improve reliability.  Also, if part of the closed loop system is damaged, the upgrade would allow greater flexibility to transfer load and enhance switching ability reducing both the frequency and duration of outages.

It should be noted that the upgrade from 60 kV to 120 kV is a standard industry increment.  While the substations and the power lines would be upgraded to allow 120 kV capacity, the system may not always operate at that higher voltage.  Operating at the higher voltage will be necessary near peak demand as well as during an adverse event which would require load transfer or switching along the closed loop system.

What would the upgrades be?

Basically, the upgrade project would involve rebuilding of the existing two electric power lines, upgrades to associated substations and replacement of wooden power poles with steel poles.  These steel poles are manufactured with a dark brown material that weathers with age to blend into the environment. 

Specifically, the project entails:

1. Removal of existing 625 line and construction of a new, rerouted 625 line
2. Rebuild of the existing 650 line
3. Realignment of two short segments of the 650 line and removal of the re-routed segments (additional segments may be set back from Highway 267 depending on the outcome of the permitting process).
4. Rebuild of the Northstar Tap into a Fold (allows for service to be maintained at a substation in the event of an interruption anywhere in the line)
5. Rebuild of a 1.6 mile long section of the existing 132 line
6. Upgrade, modification, and/or decommissioning of six substations and/or switching stations

When would the project be built?

The project would be constructed in three phases expected to occur over a six-year or longer period.  Construction in the Lake Tahoe Basin would likely only occur between May and October.

Phase 1:  650 line upgrade is scheduled to be completed as soon as possible (scheduled for December 2014), but construction can only begin upon issuance of the appropriate permits and within the limited construction period allowed within the Tahoe Basin).

Phase 2:  Truckee, Northstar, and Kings Beach Substation modifications are scheduled to be completed in 2015/2016 (assuming the first phase is completed by December 2014 as currently scheduled).

Phase 3:  625 line rebuild along with the Squaw Valley and Tahoe City Substation modifications are tentatively scheduled to be completed in 2018/2019.  

Is the project being proposed now to accommodate growth—specifically for ski resort expansion plans as claimed by some?

No.  Even without projected expansion from any commercial or residential development, this upgrade is needed as the system is currently at maximum operating capacity during winter peaks.  Moreover, the system is extremely susceptible to outages caused by adverse conditions since it does not have sufficient load transfer and switching capabilities.

As far back as the mid-1990s, the need to upgrade the 625 and 650 lines was identified by Sierra Pacific Power Company (the electric provider at the time).  These power lines were not originally designed to provide a closed loop system (which improves reliability).  They also were not designed to carry the current peak loads (capacity).

As a utility, Liberty does not have the authority to encourage or even approve growth.  However, it does have the legal responsibility under California Public Utilities Code section 399 and other statutory provisions to provide reliable, safe electricity to its existing and future customers.   The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is charged with regulating Liberty to ensure that Liberty complies fully with this statutory directive.  Liberty also adheres to the National Energy Regulatory Commission (NERC) Reliability Standard TPL-002-0b.

With the upgrade, will future outages be eliminated?

No matter how hard we try, no utility can guarantee that outages will not occur.  Adverse things happen—snow-laden branches falling onto power lines or cars crashing into power poles (historically, the two major reasons for outages in Liberty’s service territory).  However, upgrading these two major power lines (not the localized distribution lines, which will remain the same) will greatly reduce the larger system’s vulnerability to outages as well as reduce the duration of any outage for reasons described above. 

How much will the project cost to construct?

Liberty Utilities’ application to the CPUC cited an estimated total cost of construction at $46 million.  However, this cost could change based on the final approved project as well as cost of inflation over the construction life of the project.

How will the project impact customers’ rates?

First, the project is proposed to be built over an extended time, in three phases over at least six to ten years.  As required by the environmental assessment laws, Liberty is requesting construction permit approval now for the three phases to allow for a complete review of the whole required set of upgrades. While all three phases will eventually be necessary to ensure the electrical line loop is upgraded to allow full switching and load transfer capability, the phasing of the incurrence of construction costs over many years will spread the costs and mitigate the impact of any one rate increase. 

Second, Liberty Utilities is a regulated utility and, as such, any rate changes (including increases/decreases and cost allocation among customer classes) are decided by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).  Liberty Utilities will be allowed to recover the funds it incurs for the project only after any improvements or new infrastructure is “used and useful” in Liberty’s provision of service to our customers  The CPUC then considers the request for a rate change during extensive hearings with full participation by the public, including consumer advocates.  The CPUC will only grant cost recovery for any expenses it determines fiscally and operationally prudent.  For purposes of providing some order of magnitude of the possible rate impacts, as a general rule, under today’s rate structure if the CPUC authorized Liberty to recover in rates $10 million of project expense, Liberty’s rates would increase by about 2%.

To learn more about the CPUC rate-making process, visit http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/puc/

Can rate increases be imposed just on those who benefit from the project, such as north shore customers or large commercial businesses?

The CPUC has the authority to decide whether the costs of a project will be allocated to all customers on a system or to some subset of customers.  During the CPUC ratemaking proceeding, parties will have the opportunity to make proposals requesting that the CPUC allocate the costs in a manner the party believes appropriate.

What’s the potential environmental impact of this project?

The relevant agencies began assessing the potential environmental impacts in 2011.   The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is the lead local agency coordinating the environmental analysis under all applicable processes.  Under a memorandum of understanding, the U.S. Forest Service is the lead federal agency for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process and CPUC is the lead state agency for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Environmental Impact Review (EIR) process.  The three agencies released their draft environmental analysis document (EIS/EIS/EIR) in November 2013, and posted it to the website at http://www.trpa.org/get-involved/major-projects/.

The environmental analysis evaluates five project alternatives, one of which is a no-action alternative which assesses the consequences of not doing the project.  The public comment period on the joint draft (EIS, EIS, EIR) closed on January 7, 2014.  Comments were submitted and the agencies will respond to them under NEPA, CEQA and TRPA processes. 

In general, the 650 power line basically follows its existing route and the 625 power line could have a new proposed route based on alternatives presented; wooden poles would be replaced with steel poles manufactured with a dark brown material designed to weather with age to blend into the environment; poles would be spaced further apart where possible requiring fewer of them; new poles would be 10-15 feet higher; some power line spans across roads could be eliminated; in some areas, the poles will be less visible (such as along the Truckee River in Tahoe City and along Route 267) and in others they will be more visible (such as along Fiberboard Road); and there will be greater vegetation clearance around each pole.  Again, the draft EIS/EIS/EIR found construction of each alternative (and each portion of each alternative) may impact the environment differently.

As Liberty Utilities proposed this project and the agencies’ independent consultant Ascent Environmental conducted its analysis, the alternatives proposed strive to achieve a balance between the need for safe, reliable power and the need to best protect the unique environment of Lake Tahoe and the surrounding communities. Even before the project alternatives were submitted for review, Liberty Utilities worked with the environmental consultant and agreed to 170 Application Proposed Measures (APMs) which are similar to mitigation measures that might be imposed upon a project by a governing body.  Under one APM Liberty has agreed to additional double-circuiting of the 625 and 650 power lines.  Double circuiting puts both the higher and lower voltage power lines on the same pole.  While utilities ideally would like these two lines on separate poles so a problem with one line would not affect another, Liberty understands the environmental preference of having one set of poles rather than two.

Could power lines be undergrounded to lessen the environmental impact?  Wouldn’t that also improve reliability?

Undergrounding utility lines is approximately 4-5 times more expensive than traditional overhead power line construction.  While undergrounding does best protect power lines from the elements, maintenance and repairs of underground lines is more difficult and costly, especially if the electrical lines are buried under several feet of snow. Also, while undergrounding improves the visual impact of power lines, it may have a detrimental impact on environmental concerns such as vegetation, wetlands and cultural resources.

What about the substation upgrades?  What’s the impact of these facilities upon the environment?

There are six existing substations that this project would potentially impact.  The function of a substation is to take the power transmitted along the lines from a higher voltage to a lower voltage for purposes of distributing the power to customers which the substation serves.  With the 625/650 power lines ultimately being operated at 120 kV, it will be necessary to upgrade the substations to accommodate this higher voltage.  The substation upgrades generally involve installing new state-of-the art equipment which in some cases requires a greater height.  Three of the substations have special circumstances.

The Brockway Substation and the Kings Beach Substation are within a mile from each other north of the intersection of Highways 267 and 28 in a predominately residential neighborhood.  Liberty is proposing to decommission (remove) the  Brockway Substation and upgrade the Kings Beach Substation.  The Kings Beach Substation is physically located in an area that is not visible to the public from the street, providing both better aesthetics and safety.  Upgrading the Kings Beach Substation, however, would require an amendment to the TRPA’s Planning Area Statement (PAS) which TRPA planning staff has recommended.

The Tahoe City Substation is proposed to be upgraded in its current location with measures implemented to reduce visual impact (such as screening).  Relocating the Tahoe City substation is not part of this project; relocation is not necessary to improve system reliability.  However, representatives of various groups have recently voiced their support of relocating the Tahoe City Substation to enhance plans for the “gateway area” into Tahoe City.  While this is not part of Liberty’s current application before the permitting agencies, Liberty is amenable to discussing proposals to relocate the substation as part of another project, even if proposed by another entity or agency. 

Who has the ultimate authority over approving the project?

As the state agency regulating public utilities and the provision of electric service, the CPUC has the primary authority over this project.  Since this is a linear project that crosses various jurisdictions, there are several other agencies that have some jurisdiction over the project.  Liberty has accordingly applied for various permits from the CPUC, the U.S. Forest Service (since many project components are located on federal lands) and the TRPA (since some project components are located within the Lake Tahoe Basin).  Liberty and these permitting agencies are working with other agencies, such as counties and cities, to the extent the project components are located within their respective jurisdictions. 

What will be the construction impact?

Individual governing agencies can require certain construction mitigation measures for the portion of the project that falls within their jurisdiction.  For instance, some local agencies restrict hours of construction in the permit.  While construction activity will be determined based on weather, the TRPA typically allows construction within the Lake Tahoe Basin to only occur seasonally from May through October.  Liberty is committed to mitigating construction impacts as much as possible.

A construction project of this magnitude has a positive impact upon local economies.  While some of the larger, specialized materials (such as power poles and conductors) may have to be purchased from out-of-area vendors if none exists locally, other supplies will be purchased locally as much as possible.  As a private, regulated company, Liberty pays sales taxes and property taxes to local jurisdictions.  Local construction workers will be employed as much as possible.  Employment of even out-of-area workers will have a positive impact on local economies with their patronage of local restaurants, lodging and other amenities.  Since construction could occur through a 10-year period, the economic impact upon local economies will endure for a prolonged period and could be substantial.

What has Liberty Utilities done to inform its customers about this project?

Liberty is committed to ensuring our customers are fully informed about the 625/650 Electric Lines Upgrade Project.  In 2012 we began discussing the project with TRPA, CPUC and USFS staff as well as conducting tours for representatives from each agency.  In 2013, we conducted additional tours which included a Placer County representative and TRPA Governing Board members.  Liberty Utilities President Mike Smart and other staff have made many presentations to community groups since early 2013 and continue to do so.  Bill inserts about the project have been sent to all Liberty customers, and Liberty has dedicated a portion of its website to the project and updates the material as needed.  Liberty is also working with local media to increase awareness of the project, and has participated in public meetings where the project has been discussed.

How can I keep informed about the project?

The best way to keep up-to-date on information relating to the project is to visit www.libertyutilities.com/west/reliability.  Liberty will continue to include the most recent information about the project on this site, and provide links to other appropriate websites to provide our customers with a comprehensive view of the project.  We will also continue to include information with our monthly billing statement when feasible.

Agency Contact Information:

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)

www.cpuc.ca.gov/puc/
Project Contact:  Michael Rosauer, CPUC, michael.rosauer@cpuc.ca.gov

U.S. Forest Service- Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

www.fs.fed.us/
Project Contact: Bob Rodman, Lands Program Manager, rrodmanjr@fs.fed.us

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency

www.trpa.org
Project Contact:  Wendy Jepson, Senior Planner, wjepson@trpa.org