Here’s what is causing power outages in one Tri-Cities town. BPA has a $15M+ fix
The Bonneville Power Administration is proposing a fix to reduce the number of power outages in Richland.
Transmission congestion on a three-mile transmission line from the Stevens Drive Substation south to the Richland Substation has caused 15 unplanned power outages in the last five years, according to BPA.
“Our ability to get power into the area is becoming increasingly constrained,” said Michelle Cathcart, BPA vice president of transmission operations. “The conditions have made it necessary for us to consider upgrading this segment of line.”
The project would cost $15 million to $21 million.
If BPA takes no action, the number of outages could increase, last longer and impact more power users in the area.
In the last 15 outages, six were resolved by dispatchers who could remotely reclose breakers without doing repairs, but five of those happened during peak demand for electricity in spring and summer.
But without an upgrade to the transmission line, blackouts are possible both during cold spells in the winter and also in the summer when there is high demand for irrigation and air conditioning in the Eastern Washington area.
The increased need for maintenance if the power line is not upgraded also puts other areas at risk of blackouts as the line being worked on is shut down, according to BPA.
Rebuilding that section of the 115 kilovolt power line would allow BPA to add another circuit to the line, which would essentially create two lines where now there is only one.
The transmission line stretches from Stevens Drive about a block north of Van Giesen Street south to the Highway 240 bypass highway near Interstate 182.
This is one of four transmission line projects BPA is proposing in the area that will increase BPA’s transmission capacity there by 66% to 1,750 megawatts. The work includes smaller projects at substations and other facilities.
The work on the transmission line would include replacing the wood H-frame and single pole structures of the line with steel single pole structures.
The existing structures are 55 to 95 feet tall, but the new double-circuit steel poles would be 80 to 115 feet high and have a larger diameter.
Fewer poles would be needed that stand now and some of the poles could be relocated. They would be in the existing transmission line right-of-way or additional easement will be obtained.
The first public meeting on the project will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, at the Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Drive. Comments may be made at www.bpa.gov/comment through April 26.
The meeting and comment period are an early step in a project that could include an environmental assessment. If the project moves forward construction would start in the summer or fall of next year.
