KNCO Newstalk Radio: A New High Voltage Power Line Proposed to Cross Northern California

A New High Voltage Power Line Proposed to Cross Northern California
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Rita Stevens on Jun 26 08:48am
 
State Senator Sam Aanestad is raising concerns about a proposed high voltage
power line that would run 600 miles from far northeast Lassen County to Silicon
Valley. Aanestad says he's concerned the project could harm Northern California
to bring power to distant cities.
“I’m not so sure that it needs to be stopped, however, what we need to do
at this point is make sure that the public has adequate input into the planning
process. They’ve already narrowed it down to 3 proposed routes and they
haven’t chosen which one.”
Aanestad says, to the credit of the Transmission Agency of Northern California
who is behind this they have extended the public comment period. Aanestad says
he is also concerned with the taking of private land.
“They’ve also sat here in my office at the capitol and told me that they do
not plan to use the power of eminent domain to condemn private property in order
to build this line. However when I asked them how they built the last line a
couple of decades ago, yes, they used the power of eminent domain and that’s
always a real problem.”
The $1.5 Billion project would   take electricity from a renewable energy site
in Lassen County and deliver it to the bay area and point south...  the present
transmission lines cannot handle the extra load.