By PETER DAY
Senior Reporter
VICTORVILLE • The Coolwater-Lugo Transmission Line Project, which would prompt the construction of a substation facility on 160 acres in the hills near southeastern Apple Valley, is not a done deal.
“The project isn’t approved yet,” SCE regional manager Julie Gilbert told a small group of editors and reporters during a recent meeting at the Victorville Daily Press newspaper.
SCE Communications Director David Song added, “It is an open process. It’s not too late.”
The SCE managers who attended the meeting sought to clarify misconceptions, provide information and answer journalists’ questions.
Formerly known as the South of Kramer line, the Coolwater-Lugo Transmission Line Project would expand transmission capacity to meet the demands of pending renewable energy projects. Those projects will then feed electricity to the Lucerne Valley, Victor Valley and beyond.
“The existing system will not support all of their existing output,” said SCE project manager Charles Adamson. “If Apple Valley grows, it will feed it. If not it will to the L.A. basin.”
If approved, the project will start with the construction of about 70 miles of new high-voltage transmission lines from the existing Coolwater Substation in Daggett to the future Jasper Substation in Lucerne Valley and terminate at the Lugo Substation in Hesperia. In some sections, taller towers will replace shorter ones but with one line rather than two.
The project also would include the construction of the Desert View Substation, southeast of Apple Valley and just a few miles from Lucerne Valley.
Regarding public complaints about the notification process, Gilbert said SCE has taken out newspaper advertisements and adhered to the CPUC’s requirement to provide direct notification to property owners within 300 feet of the project.
“We’re trying to do the minimal amount of impact as possible,” Adamson added.
A route that is being discussed would travel a portion of State Route 247, but the SCE representatives said that is an alternate and not the primary plan.
“The Lucerne Valley folks were vocal and said, ‘Stay off 247,’” according to Adamson.
“This is a legal NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) issue that they need an alternative,” Gilbert said.
Regarding putting the transmission lines underground, Adamson said, “It’s very expensive. It goes up exponentially in cost. It’s not a fix-all that people hope it is.”
However, underground transmission lines could become a reality — some day.
“The industry may change in the next 30 to 50 years,” Adamson said.
On April 25, SCE submitted an amended application to the California Public Utilities Commission, which is currently reviewing the project proposal. Next, the Bureau of Land Management will conduct public scoping meetings. A draft environmental impact report is expected to be submitted later this year.
If SCE gets past regulatory approvals and public scrutiny, construction for Coolwater-Lugo is expected to begin in 2016. The project could be online and serving customers by 2018.
“It’s quite a while before this is approved,” Adamson said. “It’s a very open, robust process.”