Path 46

{{Expert-subject-multiple|Energy|California|date=February 2009}} '''Path 46''', also called '''West of Colorado River''', '''Arizona-California West-of-the-River Path''' ('''WOR'''), is a set of many [[alternating current]] [[High voltage|high-voltage]] [[Electric transmission line|transmission lines]] that are located in southeast [[California]] and [[Nevada]] up to the [[Colorado River]]. This power transmission system is essential to meet the electricity demands of [[Southern California]]'s massive population centers like [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] and [[San Diego, California|San Diego]]. The massive system has three separate systems of power lines. == Individual power lines of Path 46 == Supporting system (230 [[volt|kV]] only) *El Centro - Imperial Valley 230 kV *Ramon - Mirage 230 kV *Coachella - Devers 230 kV Southern System (500 kV only) *North Gila - Imperial Valley 500 kV *Palo Verde - Devers 500 kV No.1 Northern System *[[Path 64|Marketplace - Adelanto 500 kV]] - although this line is called Path 64, it is part of Path 46. *Eldorado - Lugo 500 kV *Eldorado - Lugo 230 kV lines 1 & 2 *Mohave - Lugo 500 kV *Julian Hinds - Mirage 230 kV *McCullough - Victorville 500 kV lines 1 & 2 *Hoover - Victorville 287 kV Note: Although the Intermountain [[HVDC]] line follows the route of the northern system (specifically, the Hoover - Victorville and McCullough - Victorville lines) the DC line is not considered part of Path 46. Instead, the line is a distinct path: [[Path 27]]. ==Route of the 500 kV lines== North Gila - Imperial Valley ([[San Diego Gas and Electric]]) The power line begins in the [[Imperial Valley (California)|Imperial Valley]] [[Electrical substation|substation]] located west of [[Mexicali, Baja California|Mexicali]] between the [[United States-Mexico border]] to the south and [[Interstate 8]] to the north. The same substation is also the northern end of [[Path 45]], an international power transmission corridor linking the Californian power grid to the Mexican power grid. Leaving the substation, the line parallels Interstate 8 at a distance to the south as both Interstate and power line head east. At a certain distance to the east near the sand dunes, Interstate 8 parallels the line closely, as infrastructure bunches up to cross the shifting sand dunes. For the next 10 miles (16 km), the line is squeezed tightly between the US-Mexico border and Interstate 8, until both Interstate 8 and the power line turn northeast. As Interstate 8 turns east again to reach [[Yuma, Arizona|Yuma]], the line spans over and departs the freeway as the line continues northeast. The line reaches the foothills north of Yuma and heads east. Abruptly, as the line crosses the [[Colorado River]], the power line turns south to head into the North Gila substation. Another line, Palo Verde - North Gila, connects this southern line to the [[Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant]]. The section of line east of the Colorado River is referred to as [[Path 21]]. Devers - Palo Verde No. 1 ([[Southern California Edison]] (SCE)), also called DPV1 Starting from the Devers substation northeast of the [[San Gorgonio Pass]] and north of [[Interstate 10]], the line runs north of and roughly parallel to Interstate 10 as both head southeast and pass by [[Palm Springs, California|Palm Springs]]. After dropping in elevation to near sea level near [[Indio, California|Indio]], both the line and interstate climb about 1600-ft out of the [[Coachella Valley]] and into Shavers Valley. Upon entering Shavers Valley, the line crosses over I-10 near the Cactus City exit and continues to run parallel to Interstate 10 as both continue easterly across the [[Colorado Desert]] region of the [[Sonoran Desert]]. Both pass [[Chiriaco Summit, California|Chiriaco Summit]] and [[Desert Center, California|Desert Center]] with the line never more than 1.5 miles south of the freeway. About 5 miles after passing the [[Chuckawalla Valley State Prison]], the line leaves the freeway area by turning south-east for a few miles before turning east and crossing the [[Colorado River]] south of [[Blythe, California|Blythe]]. Like the North Gila - Imperial Valley line, the section of this power line east of the Colorado River is Path 21. The power line eventually ends in the massive Palo Verde substation adjacent to the nuclear power plant and with the southernmost line mentioned above. A second 500-kV transmission line to be called Devers - Palo Verde No. 2 (DPV2) is planned to run parallel to the existing DPV1 line. Mojave - Lugo (SCE) Starting from Lugo substation near [[Interstate 15]], the 500 kV power line heads generally northeast along with the Eldorado - Lugo 500 kV line and two 230 kV power lines. Both lines cross vast expanses of desert and mountains as the head towards Nevada. Just south of [[Interstate 40]], the Mojave - Lugo line splits from the Eldorado - Lugo; the Mojave line turns to head in a more easterly direction that the other 500 kV line. The line roughly parallels Interstate 40 at a large distance up to the California border. The power line then bends and heads northeast to the [[Mohave Power Station]] near [[Laughlin, Nevada|Laughlin]], [[Nevada]]. The power line terminates there along with a shorter SCE 500 kV line from Eldorado substation. Eldorado - Lugo (SCE) The Eldorado - Lugo 500 kV line follows the same exact path as the Mojave - Lugo 500 kV until south of Interstate 40. The line then continues northeast through the desert along with other 230 kV power lines. Although the power lines generally parallel Interstate 15 through the desert, it does so at a very large distance and is completely out of sight. As the set of power lines leaves California and enters Nevada, it rises to an elevation of {{convert|5000|ft}} before turning to head north-northeast and descending. The 500 kV power line then joins two other SCE 500 kV powerlines, one from the Mojave Generating Station, and the other an SCE-built extension of [[Path 21]] from central [[Arizona]]. All three lines terminate in the Eldorado substation, which is connected to the nearby McCullough and Marketplace substations via [[Path 62]]. McCullough - Victorville lines one and two ([[Los Angeles Department of Water and Power]] (LADW&P)) Both McCullough - Victorville power lines leave the Victorville substation heading northeast along with the Hoover - Victorville 287 kV line. The Intermountain DC 500 kV power line joins the group of three power lines a short distance later. As the power lines cross Interstate 15 for the first time, they turn and head in a more easterly direction to avoid [[Barstow, California|Barstow]]. The lines then cross Interstate 40 for their only time and then Interstate 15 again. The set of four power lines generally parallels Interstate 15 at a distance north of the highway for the rest of the path in California. The Marketplace - Adelanto 500 kV power line parallels the group of four power lines for a short distance before the single line turns away and follows Interstate 15 closely instead. As the lines pass [[Clark Mountain]] to the north, they enter Nevada adjacent to [[Primm, Nevada|Primm]] and Interstate 15. There the group of power lines, along with the Marketplace - Adelanto line that has come back, split and spread out through the desert, with power lines spanning over each other. After crossing some mountains, the McCullough - Victorville and the Hoover - Victorville 287 kV lines reunite and terminate in the McCullough substation, while several other lines bypass the substation and terminate in other locations, such as the Intermountain line. Marketplace - Adelanto (LADW&P) {{Main|Path 64}} The Marketplace - Adelanto line starts at the Adelanto substation west of the Victorville substation. The same substation is also the southern end of the Intermountain HVDC line at the Adelanto [[static inverter plant]]. As the line leaves the substation, it heads northwest along with [[U.S. Route 395]] for a while before it turns east and then northeast as it meets the other Marketplace - Victorville lines and Interstate 15. The line follows the other Path 46 wires, diverges away and then Interstate 15 closely until the Nevada border, where the line abandons the freeway as the line heads east into the Marketplace substation. ==Capacity and source of the electricity== The entire Path 46 system has a capacity of transmitting 10,100 [[watt|megawatts]] (about 10 gigawatts) of electrical power to the cities of Southern California such as [[San Diego, California|San Diego]], [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]], [[Santa Ana, California|Santa Ana]], [[Temecula]], [[Riverside, California|Riverside]] and [[Bakersfield, California|Bakersfield]] . The source of the electricity is from [[hydroelectric dams]] (like [[Hoover Dam]]) on the Colorado River, [[fossil fuel]] plants (like the Mohave Power Station in [[Laughlin, Nevada|Laughlin]]), and [[nuclear power]] (like the Palo Verde Nuclear Plant). == Expansion == A new 500 kV line called Devers - Palo Verde No. 2 (DPV 2) proposed by Southern California Edison (SCE) has been approved by both the [[California Public Utilities Commission]] (CPUC) and [[California Independent System Operator]] (Cal-ISO) in the years 2007 and 2005, respectively. The new {{convert|230|mi|adj=on}} 500 kV line will follow the existing DPV 1 - 500 kV from San Bernardino in California to the Harquahala Generating Station (near the Palo Verde Nuclear Plant) in Arizona and the line will cost [[United States dollar|USD]] 680 million to build. The new line and associated upgrades to the regional transmission system will bring an additional 1,200 MW of electrical power to the Los Angeles area, which is enough to power 780,000 homes. In June 2007, the [[Arizona Corporation Commission]] rejected SCE's application for the line expansion. SCE then appealed to the [[FERC]], and is currently working directly with ACC to find a solution. Construction on the California portion of the line could begin in 2009, but Arizona is not expected to respond before the end of 2009. [[San Diego Gas & Electric]] has also proposed a new 500 kV power line, with its eastern terminus at the North Gila substation and several possibilities for the western terminus and route configuration. ===Wildfires of October 2007=== On October 21, 2007 the [[California_wildfires_of_October_2007#Harris_Fire|Harris Fire]], part of the '''California wildfires of October 2007''', damaged and disabled an extension of the North Gila-Imperial Valley 500 kV line that heads into San Diego. ===Power outage of September 2011=== The [[2011 Southwestern United States blackout]] that began on September 8, was a widespread [[power outage]] reportedly caused by actions taken by an [[Arizona Public Service]] employee at the North Gila substation that affected parts of western [[Arizona]], [[Mexico]]'s [[Sinaloa]] and northern [[Baja California]], and also caused the largest power failure in [[Southern California]] history of the time. The failure at the substation should not have taken such a large part of the grid offline, and investigations are ongoing into why the failure cascaded. Most of the areas affected were served by San Diego Gas & Electric Company, and left more than 5 million people without power. ==External links== *[http://maps.thefullwiki.org/Path_46 Route map keyed to locations] {{Power Transmission Corridors of the Western United States}} {{coord missing|California}}