LAKEWOOD, Colo.--Western Area Power Administration wants you. That is, if you are interested in partnering to finance and co-own necessary improvements to relieve a transmission bottleneck in California.

Western is identifying all entities interested in participating in financing and co-ownership of system additions needed to relieve the constraint on Path 15, located in California's San Joaquin Valley. The 84-mile line would be very similar to that proposed for the Los Banos-Gates Transmission Project. The project as proposed includes a 500-kV line between Los Banos and Gates substations, realigning the existing Los Banos-Midway No. 2 500-kV transmission line into Gates Substation, modifying Los Banos and Gates Substations to accommodate new equipment at several existing substations and reconductoring parts of theGates-Arco-Midway 230-kV Transmission Line.

Western estimates the project will cost between $200 million and $300 million.

Statements of interest must be provided to Western by July 12. They should include:

• Requesting entity's name
• Experience in financing electric utility transmission projects
• Name, phone, fax and e-mail address of management contact
• Name, phone, fax and e-mail address of technical contact
• Amount of financing offered
• Amount and type of ownership rights sought
• Description of non-monetary contributions offered
• Description of proposed participation in sufficient detail to be evaluated
• Amounts and types of transmission rights sought for purchase

For details about this project or to sign up for regular updates on it, visit Western'ss Web site at www.wapa.gov.