drumguy8800
05-27-2004, 01:40 PM
Council's $100 million dream: providing electricity without view
09:42 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 26, 2004
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
When Dallas Mayor Laura Miller envisions the future Trinity River project, she sees scenic parks, busy sidewalk cafes and sold-out luxury condos. Hundred-foot-high, tapered steel power poles don't fit into this rosy picture. But the city's utility company says they might have to, if Dallas wants to keep up with growing demand.
As Oncor – soon to be TXU – maps out a new, high-capacity power line along the Trinity River, city officials are lobbying for a compromise that would keep it far from sight. And the mayor said she would do what it takes to remove existing electric eyesores in coming years – even if it means the city paying millions of dollars to bury the lines.
The City Council's dream plan would cost the city nearly $100 million over the next six years. City staffers haven't determined how to pay for such projects. But they have recommended earmarking funds from Oncor's franchise fees or adding a surcharge to Dallas ratepayers' electric bills – at least for a portion.
"If you have a luxury condominium, you can't have windows looking out at big towers and wires across their path," Ms. Miller said. "We can't have economic development like this. At the end of the day, we're going to have to take existing lines and put them underground." For more than a decade, the city has allowed Oncor to erect transmission lines along the Trinity River with little thought toward development.
"The city treated the Trinity like a back alley – a place to put power lines, trash and sewers," council member Ed Oakley said. "You can't just snap your fingers and turn your back door into your front door." Ms. Miller said the city made a mistake in granting Oncor the river right of way. And with plans for development along the corridor, she said, "It's something we need to reconsider."
Overriding power needs
But in the case of one proposed line, the city's power needs might override aesthetic concerns. Since 2001, Oncor has been crafting plans for a 345-kilovolt transmission line from Irving's Norwood Switching Station to Dallas' West Levee Station, which services downtown's central business district, West Dallas and Oak Cliff. Oncor's original blueprint took the path of least resistance – the Trinity floodway. David T. Gill, regulatory affairs director for Oncor, said the new line would serve as a backup to an existing line, which runs from Lancaster to the West Levee Station. He said the region's electric load is growing at a rate of 7 percent a year, twice that of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' state average.
"The line is primarily to reliably serve the D/FW area," Mr. Gill said. "You have to operate so that when you lose a line, nothing happens." Last fall, City Council members contacted Oncor with an offer of their own – a route that would complement future Trinity River projects. The staff recommendation includes aerial structures along the median of Irving Boulevard and across the Sylvan Bridge, and underground lines for a mile along the West Levee at Canada Drive. Oncor officials will send an application for the new line to the Public Utility Commission in Austin late this summer. The application will include several proposed routes, including the city's recommended route. Oncor also will mark the company's preferred path – but officials say they're not sure whether their choice will mirror the city's.
"Certainly the city's expression of community values in picking this route is something we're going to weigh very heavily," Mr. Gill said. The PUC is expected to select a route and approve construction by late 2005. Oncor hopes to have the line in use in 2006. Mr. Gill said transmission lines are typically buried only if there is no space for overhead lines. When customers want their lines buried for aesthetic reasons, the cost burden falls on them, he said. "We expect them to pay the difference as a fairness issue," Mr. Gill said. "And that's what we've told the city." The city's proposal to bury one mile of line would cost $12 million. At first, the city entertained thoughts of putting the entire line underground – at a cost of $72 million.
Feasible but expensive
"Sure, it's feasible," Mr. Gill said. "And it's expensive."
City officials say they are pleased with how Oncor has responded to their concerns about the planned line, but they have other power lines in mind, too. In the next three years, council members hope to free up the Trinity River by consolidating existing lines from the East Levee onto Irving Boulevard and converting aerial lines near the future Woodall Rodgers Signature Bridge to underground lines. These projects would cost a combined $24.6 million. And by 2010, the mayor said, she hopes to bury the power lines along both levees – at an estimated additional cost of $60 million. Ms. Miller said the development anticipated on the Trinity River levees would be an extension of downtown Dallas. The central business district has its power lines buried underground, she said, so the Trinity River Corridor should, too. "Why would you build the [Woodall Rodgers Signature] bridge and have it obscured?" Ms. Miller said. "If we have to pay to put them underground, that's what we're going to do."
09:42 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 26, 2004
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
When Dallas Mayor Laura Miller envisions the future Trinity River project, she sees scenic parks, busy sidewalk cafes and sold-out luxury condos. Hundred-foot-high, tapered steel power poles don't fit into this rosy picture. But the city's utility company says they might have to, if Dallas wants to keep up with growing demand.
As Oncor – soon to be TXU – maps out a new, high-capacity power line along the Trinity River, city officials are lobbying for a compromise that would keep it far from sight. And the mayor said she would do what it takes to remove existing electric eyesores in coming years – even if it means the city paying millions of dollars to bury the lines.
The City Council's dream plan would cost the city nearly $100 million over the next six years. City staffers haven't determined how to pay for such projects. But they have recommended earmarking funds from Oncor's franchise fees or adding a surcharge to Dallas ratepayers' electric bills – at least for a portion.
"If you have a luxury condominium, you can't have windows looking out at big towers and wires across their path," Ms. Miller said. "We can't have economic development like this. At the end of the day, we're going to have to take existing lines and put them underground." For more than a decade, the city has allowed Oncor to erect transmission lines along the Trinity River with little thought toward development.
"The city treated the Trinity like a back alley – a place to put power lines, trash and sewers," council member Ed Oakley said. "You can't just snap your fingers and turn your back door into your front door." Ms. Miller said the city made a mistake in granting Oncor the river right of way. And with plans for development along the corridor, she said, "It's something we need to reconsider."
Overriding power needs
But in the case of one proposed line, the city's power needs might override aesthetic concerns. Since 2001, Oncor has been crafting plans for a 345-kilovolt transmission line from Irving's Norwood Switching Station to Dallas' West Levee Station, which services downtown's central business district, West Dallas and Oak Cliff. Oncor's original blueprint took the path of least resistance – the Trinity floodway. David T. Gill, regulatory affairs director for Oncor, said the new line would serve as a backup to an existing line, which runs from Lancaster to the West Levee Station. He said the region's electric load is growing at a rate of 7 percent a year, twice that of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' state average.
"The line is primarily to reliably serve the D/FW area," Mr. Gill said. "You have to operate so that when you lose a line, nothing happens." Last fall, City Council members contacted Oncor with an offer of their own – a route that would complement future Trinity River projects. The staff recommendation includes aerial structures along the median of Irving Boulevard and across the Sylvan Bridge, and underground lines for a mile along the West Levee at Canada Drive. Oncor officials will send an application for the new line to the Public Utility Commission in Austin late this summer. The application will include several proposed routes, including the city's recommended route. Oncor also will mark the company's preferred path – but officials say they're not sure whether their choice will mirror the city's.
"Certainly the city's expression of community values in picking this route is something we're going to weigh very heavily," Mr. Gill said. The PUC is expected to select a route and approve construction by late 2005. Oncor hopes to have the line in use in 2006. Mr. Gill said transmission lines are typically buried only if there is no space for overhead lines. When customers want their lines buried for aesthetic reasons, the cost burden falls on them, he said. "We expect them to pay the difference as a fairness issue," Mr. Gill said. "And that's what we've told the city." The city's proposal to bury one mile of line would cost $12 million. At first, the city entertained thoughts of putting the entire line underground – at a cost of $72 million.
Feasible but expensive
"Sure, it's feasible," Mr. Gill said. "And it's expensive."
City officials say they are pleased with how Oncor has responded to their concerns about the planned line, but they have other power lines in mind, too. In the next three years, council members hope to free up the Trinity River by consolidating existing lines from the East Levee onto Irving Boulevard and converting aerial lines near the future Woodall Rodgers Signature Bridge to underground lines. These projects would cost a combined $24.6 million. And by 2010, the mayor said, she hopes to bury the power lines along both levees – at an estimated additional cost of $60 million. Ms. Miller said the development anticipated on the Trinity River levees would be an extension of downtown Dallas. The central business district has its power lines buried underground, she said, so the Trinity River Corridor should, too. "Why would you build the [Woodall Rodgers Signature] bridge and have it obscured?" Ms. Miller said. "If we have to pay to put them underground, that's what we're going to do."