Idaho Power Transmission Line - Wood River Electrical Plan (WREP)

Summary - addressing Hailey to Ketchum (North Valley)

The WREP plan is based on:

1. A projected population in the entire valley of 76,000 at buildout in 2080.
2. New technology dependent on electricity
3. New construction and electrical demand
4. The wintertime ski industry- high speed chairs, snowmaking, gondola
Need
1. System lacks dependability - only one line serving North Valley therefore there
is no redundancy to handle extreme peak loads without power outages and hardship.
The current line is 40 years old and highly maintained. There have been 4 sustained
outages and 4 momentary outages in those 40 years.
2. System lacks sufficient capacity for projected needs - Current demands at peak load
are 99.5 MW. Future demand at buildout is 320 MW, assuming the current 4.2 kW
per person or 10.3kW per household..
3. Current capacity is 120 MW
4. ID Power expects that the electrical load can be reduced by "demand side manage-
ment" ie. building standards, energy efficient technology.
5. The above improvements could reduce the load by 20 to 30 percent. Idaho Power
"hopes that consumption will decrease... but present trends are not promising."
Recommendations
1. Construct a fully redundant 138,000 volt transmission line between Wood River
Transmission Station ( Hailey) and Ketchum Substation (SV Rd). The preferred
alternative runs parallel with and immediately adjacent to Hwy 75 with the
existing "distribution" lines ( the lines we currently see along the highway) placed
on common single poles to create two tiered towers. I have not found the height of
these towers in the report but I think they are 55' to 60'. Once the circuit (line) reaches
Ketchum city limits and goes to the substation there is no specified route. The line
would preferably be underground at this point at a cost of $3,000,000 less the above
ground rate of $200,000 per mile (Appendix C-p. 5).at a cost to the stakeholders. The
 entire line could be put underground contingent upon the above rates.
WREP P. 2
Reducing Need
1. Throughout the plan Idaho Power suggests there are ways to reduce the need for
additional transmission resources in the Wood River Valley. Energy efficiency,
improved building standards and weatherization, as mentioned above, could reduce
need by 20 to 30 percent. ID Power has residential, commercial, agricultural, and
and industrial programs. They do not mention energy conservation , smart meters,
smart grids and local alternative energy generating facilities which could
substantially reduce need.
2. They do say twice that " future changes in technology may make some of the
improvements unnecessary or, at least, delay their need. These types of shifts,
however are impossible to predict, therefore, ID Power can only monitor them and
understand that no matter how good the present plans are, external forces can change
them ." (p. 3 and p. 13)
3. Idaho Power also says in the plan that "population growth results will vary
because of economic and political changes in the area and other potential limits
such as limited water or transportation limits." (Appendix B, p.13)
Easements and Legal Issues

Alternative Energy and reducing need

1. At least three times in the plan it is mentioned there are alternatives that could
displace the need for utility infrastructure. This would be up to the residents,
businesses and local governments to bring to fruition. Appendix C p. 1)
2. They discuss small scale, residential photovoltaics and wind turbines. The
report questions the possibility of finding space in the valley for solar generating
plant and they say that electrical transmission would still be required to deliver the
energy to the end users. The same thoughts are expressed concerning wind and
geothermal. They say there is at least one proposed geothermal power generation
project located near the valley. Is this Magic Landing Hot Springs?

Independent Conclusions - Brief

The WREP still has to go through a public process and this is where we need to be
involved to educate the valley about this line and the reasons why it is not necessary.
It is a perfect opportunity to galvanize the community to change energy use and to adopt
new and localized energy generation. Photovoltaics on every roof, wind turbines east and
west of Hailey, and on the back side of Baldy (Wind and location studies have been done)
.