PG&E Completes 230-kV San Mateo Transmission Line
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E; San Francisco, California, U.S.) released the 230-kV Jefferson-Martin transmission line on April 29, 2006, within schedule and at a cost of US$221 million. All but 3 miles (4.8 km) of the 27-mile (43.5-km) line are underground within roadways, with the remainder overhead in an existing utility corridor along the edge of a watershed. A short, temporary overhead portion spans the roadway above Crystal Springs Dam near Hillsborough. That portion will eventually be replaced with an underground line when the county rebuilds the bridge.
The Jefferson-Martin line connects two namesake substations in Redwood City and Brisbane, and can carry as much as 400 MW of electricity. The California ISO board of governors approved the need for the line in April 2002. After nearly two years of environmental review, with 38 proposed routes and the most comprehensive environmental impact report for any transmission project in California, the California Public Utility Commission settled on a final route. PG&E then finalized engineering on the line and started construction in January 2005.
The added power and reliability of the new line will allow PG&E to close its Hunters Point Power Plant on May 15 as planned.
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