State to rehear requests on SWEPCO power-line route

The Arkansas Public Service Commission will reconsider whether a high-voltage power line is needed through Benton and Carroll counties and, if so, decide on the best route.

In a ruling Monday afternoon, the three-member commission stated it was granting two requests for rehearings -- one from Save the Ozarks, a group that opposes the power line, and one from Southwestern Electric Power Co., which proposes the power line and wanted the commission to reconsider its preferred route, which wasn't chosen. Six routes initially were proposed.

On Jan. 17, Connie Griffin, an administrative law judge with the commission, approved the 56-mile Route 109 for the power line. She said it was the only acceptable route based on residential and "aesthetic" impact. The route goes north of Eureka Springs, then north along the Arkansas-Missouri line before turning south on the west side of Bella Vista. It would cost $102.8 million.

The commission's decision Monday vacates that approval, according to the commission's order.

In March, both sides submitted petitions for a rehearing based on Griffin's January ruling.

SWEPCO asked the commission to reconsider its proposed Route 33, a 49-mile route that would cost the company $6.5 million less to construct.

The route goes north of Eureka Springs, through Gateway and Garfield, then southwest between Bentonville and Bella Vista and would cost about $96.3 million.

Save the Ozarks, a group based in Eureka Springs, asked the commission to deny SWEPCO's proposal in its entirety, saying the line is not needed and will cause environmental and economic harm.

The commission stated it was granting the rehearings to consider additional evidence on the need for, and potential environmental effect of, the proposed 345-kilovolt power line.

Both parties were asked to provide additional testimony and more recent, comprehensive evidence on whether the project is needed and whether transmission requirements in the region can be met by alternative options, such as expanding, upgrading or building lower-capacity facilities.

"Considering all the evidence provided to date, the commission finds that, while some transmission development in the area appears warranted, the record is presently insufficient to determine the need for the particular 345-kilovolt project that has been proposed," according to the order.

Pat Costner, director of Save the Ozarks, said the group is pleased with the decision.

"We see this decision as an acknowledgement of the evidence we put before them, especially the evidence that shows there is no need for this 345-kilovolt transmission line," Costner said.

Two long-range studies had been done in 2007, according to the order.

"The original studies concluded that there was a general need for transmission facilities to address potential future reliability issues," the order states.

SWEPCO is required to build transmission projects within its service area if the Southwest Power Pool determines they are necessary.

The pool is a regional transmission organization that answers to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

It is responsible for planning electrical transmission needs for 6 million households in nine states.

According to Monday's order, SWEPCO had planned to upgrade the existing 161-kilovolt transmission system in the area instead of building the higher-voltage line. Then Southwest Power Pool instructed SWEPCO to build the 345-kilovolt transmission line.

"With the commission's latest decision, we will now consult with the Southwest Power Pool, as the regional transmission organization that identified the need for this project," said Peter Main, a spokesman for SWEPCO.

"We have just received the commission's order and have not yet determined our next steps. Our continued interest and responsibility is providing a reliable flow of electricity to utilities and their customers across the region."

Besides determining need, the commission also must determine whether the proposed project serves the "public interest, convenience and necessity" and whether it represents an "acceptable adverse environmental impact considering ... the various alternatives." Those regulations can be found under Arkansas Code Annotated 23-18-519.

The commission also requested additional information on the routing of the proposed transmission line.

"With regard to routing, the parties should provide evidence whether existing 161-kilovolt lines could be upgraded or existing rights-of-way used or expanded so as to limit adverse environmental impacts," according to the order.

"If SWEPCO chooses to propose or modify a route, it should submit proof that all landowners have received the statutory notice."

The commission will issue a separate order to set a schedule for testimony and additional hearings.

The Commission's members are Chairman Colette Honorable, Olan Reeves and Elana Wills.

According to SWEPCO's initial filing with the commission April 3, 2013, "These proposed facilities are intended to meet the additional transmission capacity of the growing north Arkansas and south Missouri area."

Six towers, each 130 feet to 160 feet high, would be needed every mile to support the power line, according to SWEPCO's proposal. A 150-foot-wide right of way also would be required along the route.

The route Griffin approved, Route 109, went into Missouri for about 25 miles, requiring the need for regulatory approval in that state as well.

Metro on 06/10/2014

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