蜜柚直播

Local residents can hear an update and comment on a high-voltage power line 蜜柚直播 Electric Power proposes to build through much of central 蜜柚直播, at a virtual open house meeting April 14.

TEP has proposed running the planned on overhead lines from a substation near East 36th Street and South Kino Parkway north past the University of 蜜柚直播 campus and up North Campbell Avenue to a power station near Interstate 10 and West Grant Road.

But the route would traverse or pass by several historic 蜜柚直播 neighborhoods, and the city of 蜜柚直播 says it would violate city ordinances banning overhead power lines along designated scenic and gateway corridors, including North Campbell Avenue.

The city and neighborhood leaders want TEP to install the line underground, but TEP says that is too costly and opposes charging its customers for the project.

TEP and city officials have been discussing construction options including the potential of installing part of the line underground while allowing some overhead lines in less sensitive areas under special exceptions to the ordinances.

In a notice sent to ratepayers, TEP says its discussions with the city have focused on options for covering the additional cost of undergrounding the line 鈥渢hat is fair to all city residents, businesses and residents adjacent to the project, and other TEP customers,鈥� but those talks continue and have not yet reached a resolution.

TEP said it is also discussing possible amendments to the City鈥檚 Unified Development Code to allow special exceptions for overhead-line construction within gateway and scenic corridor zones 鈥渨hen discrete and narrowly defined conditions are met,鈥� including in industrial zoning areas.

The virtual meeting on the project is scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14, over Zoom.

Go to for the meeting link and passcode just before the event.

To listen via telephone, call 1-669-900-6833 or 1-253-215-8782 and use Webinar ID number 951 6050 0924 and passcode 55864353.

蜜柚直播 Electric Power Co. has formally filed for state approval of a controversial new high-voltage transmission line that will run through much of central 蜜柚直播, amid ongoing objections from several historic neighborhoods along the route.

In a filing with the 蜜柚直播 Corporation Commission late Tuesday, TEP stuck to its preferred route for the Kino to DeMoss-Petrie Transmission Line, a proposed 138-kilovolt transmission line spanning about seven miles from a substation at East 36th Street and South Kino Parkway to a substation and power plant just east of Interstate 10, north of West Grant Road.

The application for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility 鈥� filed after nearly two years of study and public-comment session 鈥� now will be considered by the 蜜柚直播 Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee.

After holding public hearings, the committee will decide whether to issue a certificate for final approval by the full Corporation Commission, likely within a few months.

TEP hopes to put the new transmission line into service by 2023.

Meanwhile, TEP plans to host a final public open house on the power-line proposal virtually on Thursday, Aug. 19. For details and more information on the project, go to .

TEP鈥檚 preferred route would run along the east side of the University of 蜜柚直播 campus and north up North Campbell Avenue to reach a planned substation just north of Banner-University Medical Center 蜜柚直播, before zigzagging east and north to West Grant Road.

The project will feature power poles roughly every 650 feet, generally ranging from rom 75 feet to 93 feet tall, with a few poles as tall as 120 feet, TEP says.

TEP says the power line and substation project is needed to boost power capacity and improve reliability, and to tie into the UA and Banner-UMC to meet growing demand and serve 100% renewable energy to the campus.

But the plan has drawn stiff opposition from residents of Sam Hughes and other historic neighborhoods.

TEP鈥檚 preferred route along North Campbell would run along the edges of the Sam Hughes and Blenman Elm neighborhoods, and the route leading west from the planned Vine Substation on the UA campus would cut through the Jefferson Park neighborhood.

The plan has also drawn fire from 蜜柚直播 City Council members including Steve Kozachik who cited city requirements for underground utility lines in city-designated 鈥淕ateway Corridors鈥� including North Campbell Avenue.

In its application to state regulators, TEP added back one proposed alternative route, dubbed 5A, that would route the line to the west of the UA campus to avoid the Campbell Avenue corridor.

TEP said it was including that route segment, which had been dropped from consideration as the utility refined the line segments in mid-2020, as an alternative to the Campbell alignment.

But the company noted that the 5A route 鈥� which would run up Euclid Avenue between Broadway and Speedway 鈥� would take the line through a historic preservation zone in the West University neighborhood and cost up to 60% more than other routes.

Meanwhile, Sam Hughes, Jefferson Park and about 10 other neighborhood associations have formed a group called the Underground Coalition, urging TEP to bury all or parts of the roughly seven-mile-long transmission line underground.

TEP has said it did not propose burying the lines and recovering the cost through rates because it is unnecessary and too costly for ratepayers, citing a study showing that 鈥渦ndergrounding鈥� similar transmission lines costs more than 13 times the cost of overhead lines, which it estimated at about $1 million per mile.

The utility says it would support creation of a special taxing district to pay for undergrounding the line.

But supporters of burying the line say TEP has overstated the costs and point out that the entire city will benefit from the preservation of a vital city gateway.

In May, a city zoning examiner denied TEP鈥檚 request for a special exception land-use permit to build the new Vine Substation, citing a lack of information on the proposed line鈥檚 compliance with area development plans.

蜜柚直播 Electric Power鈥檚 plan to run a high-voltage transmission line through central 蜜柚直播 is facing backlash from historic neighborhoods and some city leaders who say the project will blight a wide swath of town.

After a series of stakeholder and public meetings since 2019, TEP is preparing to file its final plan for the 138-kilovolt Kino to Demoss-Petrie Transmission Line听鈥� which will feature 75- to 110-foot power poles听鈥� with state regulators at the end of July.

TEP says the line is needed to boost power capacity in the area and to better serve the University of 蜜柚直播 and Banner-University Medical Center听蜜柚直播.

But as TEP plans to file for approval of its final route with state regulators later this month, neighborhood opponents who want the line听buried underground have hired an attorney听鈥� and the city is preparing to defend an ordinance that would prohibit the utility from installing the line overhead.

About a dozen affected 蜜柚直播 neighborhoods have formed a group called the Underground Coalition, to advocate for installing all or part of the roughly seven-mile line听underground, arguing the line would ruin the aesthetics of many historic neighborhoods and cause property values to plunge.

Participating neighborhoods include Jefferson Park, Sam Hughes, Iron Horse, Pie Allen, West University and Catalina Vista.

鈥淎s a neighborhood, we鈥檙e very concerned about the placement of the lines,鈥� said Colleen Nichols, president of the Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association and a resident since 1977. 鈥淭hese are massive lines, and they have no business in or near a residential area.鈥�

The neighborhoods have found an ally in 蜜柚直播 City Councilman Steve Kozachik, who says TEP has not adequately addressed concerns over the proposed line.

He says the line, which would run along much of South Kino Parkway and North Campbell Avenue would violate a city ordinance banning overhead power lines in so-called 鈥淕ateway Corridors鈥� to the city.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a serious conversation that we still have to have, and so far TEP has ignored it,鈥� said Kozachik, whose Ward 6 encompasses Sam Hughes and several other neighborhoods on or near the proposed power-line route.

Cost gives pause

TEP says it is studying the legal issue with the city but maintains that 鈥渦ndergrounding鈥� the line is an unnecessary expense that would cost more than 13.5 times the $1 million-per-mile cost of an overhead line. That would come to about $90 million for seven miles underground compared with about $7 million overhead; the substation is expected to cost about $30 million.听

The utility says听it would be unfair to force all of its ratepayers to pay the extra cost of burying the line, suggesting that the city form a special underground utility taxing district to have affected property owners pay for the undergrounding.

TEP has been responsive to the neighborhoods throughout the public siting process and hasn鈥檛 ignored the undergrounding issue, spokesman Joe Barrios said.

鈥淎s we've said publicly before, we're more than happy to work with neighbors and other stakeholders to consider formation of an underground district,鈥� he said.

Formation of an underground district, Barrios said, would 鈥渆nsure that all TEP customers are not asked to subsidize a discretionary and expensive expenditure that primarily benefits residents or property owners in one small area of our service territory.鈥�

Barrios noted that TEP heard from some neighborhood and public officials who say customers not directly impacted by the line should not pay for undergrounding it.

TEP officials say the only underground lines on its system are lower-voltage distribution lines, and those were all paid for by developers or other parties.

Kozachik and others argue that undergrounding the transmission line would preserve the aesthetics of a key city gateway, for the benefit of all area residents, and set a precedent for other areas of the city as TEP expands its high-voltage system.

Citywide concern?

Retired UA political-science professor John Schwarz lives several miles northwest of the proposed line, but he鈥檚 jumped into the effort against TEP鈥檚 overhead power-line plan nonetheless.

鈥淭hey affect the entire city, these lines and they affect principles that are important to the city,鈥� said Schwarz, a 51-year 蜜柚直播 resident who taught public policy at the UA. 鈥淵ou shouldn鈥檛 have to live in one of the neighborhoods (along the line route) to be concerned.鈥�

Schwarz said that, like many of the neighborhood leaders opposed to overhead line, he wholeheartedly supports the line as part of TEP鈥檚 efforts to improve service reliability.

But he says it鈥檚 also a matter of equity, since the property owners in the path of the new line will bear a significant cost of an overhead line as a result of property devaluation.

A white paper Schwarz authored with two other Underground Coalition members cites a federal study that found homes within 1,000 feet of an overhead high-voltage line could suffer property devaluation of 10%. Other studies have estimated devaluation of 2% to 9%.

Litigation over property devaluation stemming from an overhead line could run into the tens of millions of dollars听鈥� money TEP could put to use undergrounding the line, Schwarz and Kozachik said.

TEP鈥檚 Barrios said the company has not estimated possible property devaluation related to the project, but he said studies reviewed by TEP indicate that, 鈥渢hough short鈥恡erm impacts to property values can occur, long-term property values are not greatly affected by transmission lines.鈥�

But Schwarz said making only the affected property owners pay for the undergrounding through a special utility district just adds insult to injury.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 asking people TEP is damaging to pay for TEP not damaging them,鈥� he said.

The Underground Coalition has also questioned TEP鈥檚 cost estimates for undergrounding the line, citing examples that cost as little as half TEP鈥檚 per-mile estimate, as well as questioning TEP鈥檚 assertion that maintenance costs of underground lines听would be much higher than overhead lines.

Barrios says TEP stands by its estimates, which were developed by a third-party professional engineer.

鈥淭he cost analysis is based on the costs of actual projects that TEP鈥檚 consultant was involved with, and actual material costs,鈥� Barrios said, adding that wire used underground can't carry as much current and underground lines require special insulating infrastructure.

Whatever the cost premium, it would represent a tiny fraction of TEP鈥檚 revenues听鈥� and barely 1/100th of TEP鈥檚 most recent rate increase, Schwarz noted.

Bumpy road

TEP said it plans to file its formal line-siting request with the 蜜柚直播 Corporation Commission by July 30. The matter then will go before the 蜜柚直播 Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee, which after public hearings will make a recommendation to the Corporation Commission, which has final say.

But the plan has hit some speed bumps at the city of 蜜柚直播, and Kozachik has vowed to invoke the Gateway Corridor ordinance to stop the project.

In May, a city zoning examiner denied TEP鈥檚 request for a special exception land-use permit to build the new Vine substation, which would be built on the north end of the UA Banner campus and next to the Jefferson Park Neighborhood and link the two major sections of the Kino line.

The examiner said he could not determine the line proposal鈥檚 compliance with other area development plans because the line route in and out of the substation hadn鈥檛 been determined.

Barrios said TEP will refile the for the permit after it has filed its final route with the ACC.

But Kozachik said TEP will still have to deal with the Gateway Corridor ordinance prohibition on overhead power lines.

鈥淭he ordinance that we have mandates underground utilities on Gateway Corridors and that's what Kino is and it goes all the way to River Road,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o they need to square that circle and decide whether they want to pursue that alignment with that understanding.鈥�

Acknowledging that could lead to a court battle, Kozachik said the City Attorney鈥檚 Office has assured him the ordinance is defensible though it鈥檚 never been tested in court.

TEP鈥檚 Barrios said the company is reviewing the city鈥檚 Uniform Development Code, which deals with the Gateway Routes, and expect to provide a response to that issue in the application to the Corporation Commission.

Meanwhile, the Underground Coalition has raised more than $30,000 to hire a lawyer to represent the neighborhoods' interests in the regulatory proceedings, Schwarz said.听

As 蜜柚直播 Electric Power moves closer to identifying a route for a proposed high-voltage transmission line to run through central 蜜柚直播, residents of historic neighborhoods are alarmed at the prospect of 110-foot poles popping up around them.

But the proposed 138-kilovolt line 鈥� designed to better serve customers, including the University of 蜜柚直播 鈥� must run from a TEP power plant on the south side through part of the UA somehow, and that means the line could cut through the neighborhoods that essentially ring the campus.

Under some proposed routes for TEP鈥檚 , residents of the Sam Hughes Neighborhood would see the power lines and poles from 75 to 110 feet tall along its western border on North Campbell Avenue.

鈥淭he massive scar of the proposed power poles and lines cutting through the center of the city should not be inflicted on any historic neighborhoods, even along a perimeter boundary of those neighborhoods,鈥� said Kathi McLaughlin, a longtime local architect who sits on the Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association鈥檚 committee on TEP.

鈥淭his permanent scar will affect not just the neighborhoods, but all 蜜柚直播ans,鈥� McLaughlin said, arguing that Campbell Avenue and Grant Road are traversed by many 蜜柚直播ans 鈥渨hose street views will be forever changed by these massive poles.鈥�

Residents of Jefferson Park, West University, Iron Horse and other neighborhoods listed as historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places have also opposed running the new transmission line, known as the Kino to DeMoss-Petrie Transmission Line, through their neighborhoods.

They argue the line and its lofty power poles would destroy the character of their neighborhoods, and some have urged TEP to consider installing the line underground to avoid aerial lines altogether.

TEP says the project, which includes a new substation on the UA campus at the northwest corner of the Banner-University Medical Center campus, is needed to boost power capacity, improve reliability and tie into the UA and Banner-UMC campuses to meet growing demand.

TEP says 鈥渦ndergrounding鈥� the high-voltage lines would be too costly and make repairs lengthier and more expensive 鈥� something some neighborhood activists dispute.

Not everyone is opposed to the new power line running through or near their neighborhood.

Residents of Pueblo Gardens, a neighborhood just northwest of the new substation at Kino Parkway and East 36th Street, are looking forward to improved electrical service as the system has strained under new load from nearby retail and office development, said Cindy Ayala, president of the neighborhood association.

Ayala, a Pueblo Gardens resident for 40 years, said the neighborhood is now on three separate circuits, and residents are used to outages and brownouts that have caused damage to TVs and other electrical equipment.

鈥淵ou never know what鈥檚 coming, and whether it鈥檚 going to affect one, two or three grids,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ith this coming to fruition, this is going to be fixed and we won鈥檛 have to worry about dealing with so many brownouts.鈥�

Narrowing down potential routes

TEP is still in the process of narrowing down proposed routes for its Kino to DeMoss-Petrie 138 Kilovolt Transmission Line project, which is designed to carry power from a substation nearing completion at East 36th Street and South Kino Parkway to the DeMoss Petrie Generating Station, a gas-fired power plant just east of Interstate 10 off West Grant Road.

The utility most recently has proposed eight line segments for the power line, consisting of of four southern routes running from the Irvington power plant to the planned new UA substation just north of Banner-University Medical Center-蜜柚直播, and four to the north running from the UA substation west to the DeMoss-Petrie plant near Grant Road and Interstate 10.

After taking further public comment on those routes through Sept. 20, TEP plans on holding more public meetings, likely online, in October, TEP spokesman Joe Barrios said.

TEP plans to identify a preferred, complete route and at least two alternatives in an application the utility plans to file with the 蜜柚直播 Corporation Commission in December, Barrios said.

The matter will then be considered in public hearings by the 蜜柚直播 Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee. That panel will then recommend the issuance or denial of a certificate of environmental compatibility for the project to the Corporation Commission, which will make the final decision.

Barrios said TEP has been working with more than 30 neighborhood groups, local government entities and other utilities on the power-line proposal.

Last week, TEP dropped two similar, proposed southern routes that would run from the Irvington power plant and along Euclid between Broadway and Speedway, leaving a substantially similar route that avoids a short section on Speedway.

The utility also dropped one proposed northern segment that ran from the new UA substation directly south through campus to Speedway, then up North Oracle Road to Grant and DeMoss-Petrie, replacing it with a similar route that veers west before dropping down to Speedway.

TEP鈥檚 Barrios said the new route was added as another option in response to concerns about the power line running through neighborhoods east, west and north of the planned UA substation.

Barrios said the company has tried its best to keep more than 40,000 residents and property owners in the power-line study area informed about the proposed routes with two newsletter and postcard mailings and newspaper ads.

TEP held public-comment open-house meetings on the transmission line project last October and stakeholder working group meetings in December and February. And another planned meeting in March was postponed because of the pandemic and held as a virtual meeting in August.

Speaking out

Barrios said TEP has received more than 800 comments on the Kino to DeMoss-Petrie line project, and all of them will be included in its application to the state line-siting committee and Corporation Commission.

Last week, the heads of four historic neighborhoods to the west and south of the UA 鈥� West University, Feldman鈥檚, Pie Allen and Iron Horse 鈥� wrote a letter to the 蜜柚直播 City Council, advocating for routes along the west side of North Campbell Avenue.

The groups said the Campbell route was 鈥渢he least disruptive,鈥� citing the wide road and easements and absence of private homes on that route.

In contrast, they said, routes proposed along Euclid Avenue are longer, run through historic and neighborhood preservation zones and would negatively impact the UA and 蜜柚直播 High Magnet School.

The groups said burying the power lines is the best alternative and asked the council to press TEP and the Corporation Commission to explain why that solution is not viable.

Sam Hughes鈥� McLaughlin said TEP鈥檚 proposed routes have had the effect of pitting one neighborhood against another.

McLaughlin said Sam Hughes in its comments to TEP has opposed plans to run the new power line through any historic neighborhood, but TEP has essentially asked residents to 鈥渧ote鈥� on which routes they prefer.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 want to throw anyone under the bus, but now none of our comments were tallied and considered as votes,鈥� she said.

Pueblo Gardens鈥� Ayala said she鈥檚 heard the complaints from the other neighborhoods, but service improvements are desperately needed in her neighborhood.

鈥淭hey are going to gripe, but this is something that is needed down here,鈥� she said.

Barrios said it was never TEP鈥檚 intent to play one neighborhood against the other, and the routes proposed are simply the only potential routes that are feasible to connect the Irvington and DeMoss-Petrie power plants via the new UA substation.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not interested in pitting neighborhoods against each other; we have reached out to all the neighborhoods in the study area,鈥� Barrios said. 鈥淲e fully admit that we face some challenges in finding a route for this project because of neighbor concerns and other factors.鈥�

But Barrios said the historic neighborhoods will benefit especially from the new transmission line because many of them have reached the capacity of their aging distribution lines and switch gear.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at building facilities in this study area because that鈥檚 where the customers are, that鈥檚 where the needs are,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need to replace them or we鈥檙e going to have reliability problems.鈥�

鈥淯ndergrounding鈥� rejected by TEP

TEP has rejected the idea of installing all or some of the Kino to DeMoss-Petrie line underground, because of the cost of construction and cost and difficulty in making repairs to underground lines.

The utility commissioned a study showing that 鈥渦ndergrounding鈥� the lines would cost $11 million per mile, compared with about $1 million per mile for overhead wires.

Maintenance costs and outage times would also increase because underground lines must be accessed through vaults or dug up for repairs, TEP says.

The utility says it only installs smaller, neighborhood distribution lines underground, and then only when the developer or property owner pays for it.

But a resident of the Iron Horse neighborhood with a background in financial analysis says TEP has vastly overstated the cost of underground lines.

Dan Dempsey, who spent several years as a research analyst for the investment arm of a major bank, said he found two power-line undergrounding projects in Scottsdale, one about a mile long and the other 2 miles, with the mile-long project completed by 蜜柚直播 Public Service Co. in 2018 at a cost of $3 million, less than an initial estimate of $4 million.

Those lines were half the capacity of TEP鈥檚 proposed line at 69 kilovolts, but even at double the cost they are still half of TEP鈥檚 estimate, he said.

He also cited a 2011 study for the Wisconsin Public Service Commission that pegged the cost of a mile of underground for 138kV lines at $2 million, which even at triple the cost now would be a little more than half of TEP鈥檚 estimate.

While TEP and city officials have suggested that undergrounding would have to be funded through a special tax district, as was one of the Scottsdale projects, Dempsey said TEP could easily afford the cost itself, calculating the annual cost of a $10 million undergrounding project at less than 0.01% of TEP鈥檚 annual revenue of about $1.4 billion.

鈥淯ndergrounding Campbell is the only option that makes any sense and I think everybody can get unified behind it,鈥� said Dempsey, who now heads a software startup.听

TEP had not seen Dempsey鈥檚 calculations, which he said he plans to file as comments to TEP and later with regulators.

But TEP鈥檚 Barrios said the utility stands behind the findings of its study on the cost of undergrounding, which was written by a third-party consultant and is posted on TEP鈥檚 project website.

蜜柚直播 residents will see new high-voltage power lines go up on the east side starting next year as 蜜柚直播 Electric Power Co. builds a new transmission line to boost system reliability, especially for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

The 蜜柚直播 Corporation Commission last week gave unanimous approval to the Irvington to East Loop transmission line project, a 12.8-mile, high-voltage power line stretching from the H. Wilson Sundt Generating Station on East Irvington Road to TEP鈥檚 East Loop substation near East Broadway and Kolb Road.

The new line, which TEP is planning to place into service in 2022, also would connect to two new substations, one at South Kolb and East Escalante roads and the other near Kolb and East Littletown roads.

TEP says the new transmission line and substations are needed to serve growing energy needs, help D-M meet its energy resiliency requirements and improve electric reliability for customers across 蜜柚直播.

Construction on the 138-kilovolt power lines, with poles ranging in height from 75 to 110 feet, is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2021 and substation construction will start in the fourth quarter of next year, TEP spokesman Joe Barrios said.

The power line route, approved with public input, runs from the Sundt plant southeast along the railroad line, heads east along East Littletown Road and turns north along South Kolb Road.

After jogging east along East Escalante Road, it runs north along South Pantano Road to East Fifth Street, where it turns west to the East Loop substation on Kolb.

TEP held public-comment meetings on the project last year and mailed a newsletter with information on the project to about 22,000 residents in the project study area.

Kino-DeMoss Petrie line

Meanwhile, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic TEP has postponed planned public comment hearings set for mid-March on a major new transmission line proposed to run through the University of 蜜柚直播 area.

The proposed Kino to DeMoss Petrie line, planned for service by 2023, would potentially cut through historic university-area neighborhoods, which has raised concerns among some neighbors and city officials.

TEP has not yet published its preferred routes for the line but has posted some potential line segments at the project page online at .

TEP is encouraging neighbors and other stakeholders to view the online project update and share their comments about multiple potential line route links by May 22, via email or an online comment form on the project web page.

Written comments also may be mailed to P.O. Box 711, ATTN: Kino-DMP, Mail Stop RC131, 蜜柚直播, AZ 85701-0711.