CONTACT David Christy, (916) 353-4436, Christy@wapa.gov                                                                                 

FOLSOM, California - A public workshop is set for Thursday, March 22, in Folsom to discuss the progress of the Sacramento Area Voltage Support Environmental Impact Statement. It begins at 1 p.m. at Western Area Power Administration's Sierra Nevada Region Office, 114 Parkshore Drive, Folsom.

Western markets electricity generated by powerplants operated by the Federal government. Growth in the greater Sacramento area continues to increase the demand on the area's interconnected transmission system. This situation is reducing the reliability and security of the power system, particularly during summer peak periods. The majority of the Sacramento area's energy needs are imported over a limited transmission system that has reached, and occasionally exceeds, its maximum rated transfer limits. Western's Central Valley Project transmission system forms an integral part of the Sacramento area transmission grid.

To meet the demand and ensure electrical service reliability, additional generation and additional transmission in the area are needed. Western is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement to study the impacts of future voltage requirements of the Sacramento area. The EIS will describe the projected near-term voltage support requirements for a 100-mile radius around Sacramento, existing transmission lines bringing power into the Sacramento area, the potential for new transmission lines and/or system upgrades in the Sacramento area, or other alternatives to alleviate the current shortfall in electrical service.

Public scoping meetings for the EIS were held last September in Lodi, Marysville and Folsom. Comments gathered during the scoping process were considered by Western in developing criteria to narrow the project scope. That process, which will be discussed at the March 22 meeting, found transmission-related alternatives, such as upgrades to the existing system or new transmission lines, to be the most viable for Western.

The Draft EIS should be released in the summer of 2001 and additional public meetings will be held at that time.

For more information, call the EIS toll-free hotline at 1-877-913-4400 or go to the Western website at www.wapa.gov