State regulators on Friday recommended Tucson Electric Power’s preferred route for a planned high-voltage transmission line through midtown that would put lines and tall power poles through or near several historic neighborhoods.
But the Arizona Power Plant and Line Siting Committee also recommended three alternative segments — including a route down North Campbell Avenue opposed by the City of Tucson but favored by some neighborhoods.
And the panel included language intended to prompt the city and TEP to reach a compromise on whether some parts of the new line may need to be installed underground to comply with city ordinances or area plans.
A photo of the current view looking south from the east side along North Euclid Avenue, from a point just south of East Speedway (top image), compared with a simulated image of the same point with 138-kilovolt transmission lines and poles installed. The comparison was generated by TEP as part of its bid for approval of its Midtown Reliability Project and is on TEP’s preferred route for the controversial power line.
After 10 days of hearings, the line-siting committee approved the amended Certificate of Environmental Compatibility for TEP’s 130-kilovolt Midtown Reliability Project on a 9-0 vote.
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The panel’s recommended certificate will now go before the Arizona Corporation Commission for possible amendment and ultimate approval as soon as the commission’s next open meeting on Aug. 13.
Campbell alternative
The utility’s preferred route, identified as “B4” in project materials, connects DeMoss-Petrie to the proposed Vine Substation near Banner-University Medical Center via Grant Road, North Park Avenue, East Adams Street and North Vine Avenue.
The route connects the Vine Substation to the substation at South Kino Parkway and East 36th Street using Vine, Adams and Park before turning west on East Speedway and then south on South Euclid Avenue. After crossing Barraza Aviation Highway, the route continues on South Toole Avenue, Euclid and 36th Street.
TEP says the route minimizes crossing of residential neighborhoods, though opponents noted that some stretches are purely residential and streets like Euclid host a mix of homes and businesses.
But that route mostly avoids running afoul of a city ban on overhead lines on North Campbell and concerns Banner expressed about medical helicopter operations and operational disruptions should TEP use a route that includes North Campbell or a private drive on the hospital’s north side.
As alternatives, the committee recommended a northern route (D) that runs from West Grant directly south on North Campbell, jogs west just north of Banner-UMC on East Lester Avenue to link to the Vine Substation and a southern segment (1) that runs south on Campbell all the way to the Kino substation.
In light of Banner’s concerns, the panel also offered as an alternative for a hybrid route that heads west of the hospital campus, using Vine, East Mabel Street and East Speedway to link up with North Campbell and points south.
TEP says the planned transmission line from the south side to a substation near Interstate 10 and West Grant Road, originally proposed in 2020, is badly needed to meet surging power demand as midtown’s current 46-kV transmission system in the central Tucson area was built in the 1950s and 1960s and is nearing capacity.
Long road
TEP has been working since 2019 to plan and win approval for the new, 138-kilovolt line to link the DeMoss-Petrie substation on Grant at I-10 to a substation at East 36th Street and South Kino Parkway, via a new substation next to Banner-UMC.
The utility withdrew its original line-siting…
Read More: Panel OKs Tucson Electric’s preferred power line route