Sierra Pacific Power Company
Contact: Karl Walquist/Bob Sagan
Phone: (775)834-4345

For Immediate Release

Sierra Pacific Power Company plans to submit an application next week to build a new 120,000-volt (120 kV) electric transmission line to serve Carson City.

The route for the power line in the south Carson City area is the same as one proposed by the utility in 1998. However, Sierra Pacific is proposing to place a one-third mile section of the line underground along the western edge of the Edmonds Sports Complex.

Burying that section of the line will increase the cost of the project, but it will still be the least expensive alternative for improving local electric service, said Project Manager Mike Pidlypchak of Sierra Pacific.

He said the company was unable to reach an agreement with the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California and the Stewart Community to construct the power line along an alternate route originally identified by the utility as its preferred route.

The new transmission line will provide an alternate source of power for the Carson Substation near the intersection of Long and Roop streets. The substation serves approximately 11,000 electric customers in northwestern Carson City.

At present, only a single 120 kV transmission line delivers electricity to the substation. If that line were knocked out of service, alternate circuits could only handle about 50 percent of the substation's electrical demand. Many customers would remain out of service until the transmission line could be repaired.

The new power line will provide a second 120 kV feed to the substation. It could serve the substation's entire electrical demand in the event of an outage affecting the existing line.

"Carson City needs the electrical service reliability this line will provide," Pidlypchak said.

Sierra Pacific hopes to have the proposed power line completed and placed in service by the summer of 2000, according to Pidlypchak.