Even after the withdrawal and extensive revision of its former Kino to DeMoss Petrie Transmission Project, Tucson Electric Power’s replacement plan continues to draw heavy opposition and is generating legal wrangling.
Now known as the Midtown Reliability Project, TEP’s proposal calls for a 138-kilovolt line running from a substation at Kino Parkway and 36th Street, past the University of Arizona to the DeMoss Petrie substation near Grant Road and Interstate 10.
The key difference between the old and updated projects is the Midtown Reliability Project starts without the line segments proposed in the original.
The points of opposition to the new proposal largely mirror opposition to the previous one. City officials and neighborhood groups do not want new lines and power poles with heights up to 110 feet. The route runs through or near some of Tucson’s historic neighborhoods. Opponents want the lines buried underground, just as they did with the original Kino to DeMoss-Petrie Transmission Line plan. TEP claims that would raise costs by as much as $80M and that it would be inappropriate to spread that cost across the entirety of the ratepayer base.
Last May, Tucson voters rejected a ballot measure for a new TEP city franchise agreement that would have included a fee for funding the underground installation.
TEP has also lost a case before the Tucson Zoning Examiner requesting a variance to build the substation needed for the new distribution plan.
The utility says the new and upgraded line is essential to meeting the power needs of UA and the midtown area. It contacted 100,000 residents, 62 neighborhoods and an assortment of government officials to attend an open house in September. Roughly 125 people attended. Another open house is planned for Nov. 16.
TEP is looking at several issues that have to be addressed to secure a recommendation from the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee and final approval by the Arizona Corporation Commission.
Project representatives say installing the 138kv project will let TEP remove large amounts of the poles and equipment used in the current 46kv system. Some pieces would remain, however.
The Jefferson Park neighborhood association wants the planned substation moved away from residential areas. Other neighborhood groups, and some City officials, decry the plan’s impacts on historical integrity and overall aesthetics in the installation areas.
Along with the arguments about necessity and practicality versus historic and quality of life considerations, there also has been considerable legal back-and-forth. In the Oct. 25 Board of Adjustment meeting TEP ultimately lost, the utility’s lawyers argued the City had established a precedent by allowing overhead lines in other scenic and gateway corridors and that two City officials had said in emails no special requirements would need to be met for the substation since the project is an upgrade and not a new facility.
TEP’s attorneys also referenced a Corporation Commission rule change that says the Commission doesn’t have jurisdiction over undergrounding but noted utilities generally avoid the practice for cost reasons unless there are safety or reliability issues.
Tucson’s lawyer told the Board the City had the ability to preserve its rights-of-way and that the staff communications TEP referenced were informal, not binding.
Though TEP has expressed disappointment at the Board’s decision and the ruling from the Zoning Administrator, it says it continues to evaluate its options. (Source)
