Before a citizen group can issue recommendations on the need for new power lines, its members are getting an education on generation, transmission, rate structures and other electricity-related issues.
The group, tasked with studying the need for new transmission lines in the Wood River Valley, held its second meeting on Feb. 15 to discuss the possibility of additional power lines to serve growing demand, as well as to serve as a backup in case an existing line goes down.
Nineteen people from as far south as Lincoln County and north to Sun Valley are participating in the meetings. The group, made up of public officials and private individuals, will meet monthly until June, when it will issue recommendations.
"Aesthetics and redundancy—reliability is a big issue up here," Lynette Berriochoa, an Idaho Power corporate communications specialist, said Friday. "I think they all see the need ... that this line is maxed out."
Two transmission lines come in to the valley—one from Shoshone and one from Hagerman—to a substation near Hailey.
Another 138,000-volt line is routed from north of Hailey to a substation near Sun Valley.
Berriochoa likened transmission lines to a freeway moving large amounts of electricity, and distribution lines to city streets, bringing smaller amounts of electricity to homes and businesses.
Although no major problems have brought down the Sun Valley line, it is susceptible to wild mountain weather.
If the line were to go down, customers from East Fork north would be without power.
Idaho Power is soliciting local residents' advice on the electrical plan to get ideas that don't typically enter engineers' minds, according to the company.
Committee members Thursday discussed the option of rerouting a transmission line into the backcountry, Berriochoa said, to have it out of view.
"Those are the kinds of ideas that are going to go on the table and be considered over the next few months," she said.
The line north of Hailey travels along the east side of Highway 75 to East Fork. From there it continues to near Triumph, over the mountains and down the backside of the mountain into Elkhorn, ending up behind the water wheel near the red barn in Sun Valley.
Burying power lines is an option, but expense and environmental factors have to be weighed.
The city of Ketchum is in the process of burying in-town power lines, using money from the capital improvements program, funded in part through franchise fees collected from Idaho Power, to gradually fund the endeavor.
"Undergrounding is a big consideration up here," Berriochoa said.
Transmission lines, however, have a much higher voltage than in-town distribution lines, making them more dangerous to bury. Additionally, electrical currents could potentially harm wildlife as they migrate across underground lines.
And while overhead lines are cooled by the air, buried power lines have to be insulated to maintain a cool temperature, Berriochoa said.
The educational portion of the sessions will wrap up at the March meeting. The committee will then get into options and costs.
This illustration from Idaho Power shows typical power poles used in transmission and distribution of electricity. A pole similar to the 138,000-volt pole, in the middle, runs between Hailey and Sun Valley. A citizens advisory group is meeting through June to discuss an electricity plan for the Wood River Valley. That may include new transmission lines. Graphic courtesy Idaho Power.
