20161221Comments.pdf

Jean Jewell
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Sent:
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Subject:
Name: Richard LeFaivre
Case Number: IPC-E-16-28
Email: [e-mail]
Telephone: [phone]
Address: PO Box 2925
Sun Valley ID, 83353
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Wednesday, December 21, 2016 1:39 PM
Beverly Barker; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
Case Comment Form: Richard LeFaivre
Name of Utility Company: Idaho Power
Comment: Regarding Idaho Power's proposal to build a second electrical transmission line from the Hailey substation to
the Sun Valley substation, r would like to respectfully submit the following thoughts in support of this proposal.
I was a member of the final Community Advisory Committee that unanimously approved Idaho Power's request to build
a second transmission line for the North Wood River Valley. After evaluating a wide range of options, there were two
key reasons that the CAC approved this line. First, there is a national electrical grid mandate that all regions of sufficient
size and economic importance have redundant access to the electrical grid to minimize large-scale power outages. The
Sun Valley area is one of the few regions in the country of any import without such redundant access, and Idaho Power
has rightly made this a priority. Second, our existing single power line is rapidly aging, and will eventually have to
undergo a major upgrade/replacement. Because of the location of the line, this would require significant, lengthy power
outages for the entire North Wood River Valley, without a redundant line to take up the load during the upgrade. In
summary, this project will provide both redundant security, and the ability to replace the existing aging line without
disruption to the community.
And, I should say that I applaud the City of Ketchum's desire to move towards cleaner energy and increasing energy
independence through the support of solar power, energy storage and micro-grids. However, these efforts are
complementary to secure access to the power grid, not an alternative -we simply don't have the land or resources to
power the entire North Valley with local generation and storage. Let's move forward with the required redundant line,
while also working to create a modern, clean, renewable energy future.
Unique Identifier: 70.171.134.227
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