As part of our commitment to provide our customers safe, reliable and efficient energy, we will upgrade a transmission line to provide additional capacity and improve electric service reliability to meet power requirements. Construction on the project will begin in late October 2019 and will be completed in October 2020.
Rocky Mountain Power and Marathon Petroleum Corporation agree to construct a new 138 kV line in the area shown on the attached map. This project will increase the reliability of electrical service at the Marathon Petroleum refinery and help with the increased power needs resulting from adding new emissions control equipment and projects to provide cleaner, Tier 3 gasoline.
This line upgrade will add additional capacity and increase reliability for Rocky Mountain Power customers in Salt Lake County. State projections put Salt Lake County’s population at approximately 1.7 million people by 2040, an increase of nearly 70% over 2010. This project will improve service for existing customers and provide capacity to serve current and future electricity demand.
Rocky Mountain Power thoroughly evaluated several options with Salt Lake City and identified this line route as presenting the least impact to property owners. Most of the existing line modifications will include a pole-for-pole replacement – with the elimination of certain poles. Some portions of the line will be removed from backyards into the public right of way, which Salt Lake City owns. Additionally, there are some locations where there is only street lighting. While this line may be visible from your property, the new line will be in the public right of way. This is the park strip between the sidewalk and curb. Additional easements, if necessary, will be secured from individual property owners.
Trees that may cause a safety hazard will have to be removed directly in line. We don’t like to remove trees where possible; however, they can present a significant electrical safety and reliability concern.
Trees can be requested by emailing vegetationmgmtpaccor@pacificorp.com with Beck Street Transmission Line in the subject field. Include your name and address in the email message. Or request a tree voucher by mailing a request to Vegetation Management, 1569 West North Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84116. Vouchers will be mailed to you and can be redeemed at most local nurseries.
All power lines in our system are built to meet or exceed the National Electrical Safety Code standards, which are the foundation for electrical safety in residential, commercial and industrial settings. The safety of our community is the primary consideration in the design and installation of poles and wires. For information from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences on electromagnetic fields, visit https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/emf/index.cfm.
This route was selected because a large percentage of the route has an existing power line, which will be replaced with an upgraded line.