The federal government could override state decisions on where new power lines could be built. The Department of Energy has declared two parts of the country critical to the nation's electricity grid. One of those national corridors includes most of Southern California. KPBS environmental reporter Ed Joyce explains.
Problems with the nation's electrical grid were raised after a major blackout in 2003 swept from Ohio to Canada and New York City. The Department of Energy says the proposed corridors are in areas where people are affected by electricity bottlenecks or congestion.
One is the Mid-Atlantic area along the East Coast. The other, the Southwest Area National Corridor which includes most of Southern California, southwest Arizona and part of Nevada.
Dave Hamilton oversees the Sierra Club's Energy and Global Warming Program.
Hamilton : This is all about an end run around local input, local control and local authority. And I would imagine that if this is used to steamroll states, and steamroll counties, and steamroll municipalities, that a lot of these decisions will be in court for a long, long time.
The Energy Department's Megan Barnett says the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could approve grid projects if they're necessary for national power needs.
Barnett : FERC would then be in a position to consider whether to issue a permit and authorize the construction of that facility.
San Diego Gas and Electric's proposed Sunrise Powerlink Transmission project falls within the Southwest Area corridor. The project is still in the review stage. But if California regulators do not approve the project, the corridor designation gives the utility another option.
SDG&E spokeswoman Stephanie Donovan : The department of energy has designated what it sees as the need for additional transmission to address the reliability concerns of the Southern California region. And this would give us another bite at the apple if necessary, if the state's process does not move forward.
A 2005 law gave the federal government greater say on where high-priority transmission lines should be built. If states and regional groups don't build those lines, the federal government could order them built. One of three public meetings on the national corridor designation proposal is May 17 in San Diego.
Ed Joyce, KPBS News.
