California ISO approves USD-6.1bn annual transmission plan

The board of governors of the California Independent System Operator (ISO) has approved the ISO’s 2023-2024 transmission plan, as well as Pattern Energy’s application to connect its 550-mile (885 km) SunZia line into the California system.

According to Elliot Mainzer, the ISO’s president and CEO, the two board votes last Thursday “are enhancing regional interconnectivity and reliability in the most cost-effective way possible for California and our partners in the region.”

The USD-6.1-billion (EUR 5.6bn) transmission plan recommends 26 new projects to back the addition of 85 GW of capacity by 2035, including projects to connect the first phase of offshore wind development. The latter includes a new Humboldt 500-kV substation complete with a 500/115 kV transformer and lines to interconnect the new substation to the Collinsville 500-kV substation and to the Fern Road 500-kV substation, among others.

The SunZia line, stretching between central New Mexico and south-central Arizona, would be able to transport 3 GW of wind energy to California and neighboring states. The line, currently under construction, uses an innovative Subscriber Participating Transmission Owner (SPTO) model, which enables new transmission lines outside the ISO balancing area to connect generation to the California grid and give the ISO operational control.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.921)

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