The California Energy Commission released the Presiding Member's Proposed Decision (PMPD) for the Blythe Energy Project (BEP) Transmission Line Modification including a new substation and additional transmission lines. The Energy Commission Committee assigned to the Blythe Transmission Line project - comprising Commissioner John Geesman, Presiding Member, and Commission Vice Chair James Boyd, Associate Member - recommends the following changes to the Blythe Energy Project's Decision:

• A midpoint substation connecting to Southern California Edison's (SCE) Devers-Palo Verde 1 (D-PV1) transmission line at either the "Proposed Midpoint Substation" location or the "Proposed DSW Midpoint Substation" location, to be chosen by project owner Blythe Energy LLC at its discretion.
• A 6.7- or 11.9-mile (depending on the midpoint location chosen) transmission line connecting the new midpoint substation to the existing Buck Boulevard Substation.
• Modification of existing switching equipment and the addition of new equipment, resulting in a small expansion of the Metropolitan Water District's (MWD) Julian Hinds substation near Hayfield.
• A 67-4-mile transmission line between the Buck Boulevard substation and the Julian Hinds substation.

Blythe Energy LLC proposed transmission line modifications would allow electricity from the Blythe Energy Project (BEP) to be delivered to the California Independent System Operator-controlled electrical transmission system in Southern California. Blythe Energy owns a 520-MW natural gas-fired power plant within the city of Blythe in eastern Riverside County. In 2001, the Energy Commission approved the Blythe Energy application for certification for the BEP. The power plant began generating electricity in 2003.
The full Commission voted on October 11, 2006 to approve these proposed changes. More information about the PMPD is available at the Energy Commission website at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/blythetline/index.html