The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved Southern California Edison's (SCE) application to build segment one of the Tehachapi renewable transmission project.
When all phases are developed, the Tehachapi project will include a series of new and upgraded high-voltage transmission lines capable of delivering 4,500MW of electricity from wind farms and other generating companies that are proposed for northern Los Angeles and eastern Kern counties. SCE has proposed constructing the Tehachapi project in 11 segments to coincide with the development of independently owned wind farms. The decision approves the first of three segments sometimes referred to as the Antelope project, pending approval by the U.S. Forest Service. The first segment includes the construction of a 26-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line connecting SCE's Antelope Substation in Lancaster with the utility's Pardee Substation in Santa Clarita. The new line is expected to be operational in early 2009. A CPUC decision on segments two and three is expected later this month. SCE will file an application in June of this year to build the remaining segments.
