Clark County out of plan for power corridors

The Department of Energy on Tuesday approved its proposed electric power transmission corridors in the Southwest and Mid-Atlantic states, with only one exception -- Clark County.

Power line developers can get quick or "expedited" approval inside designated transmission corridors. However, the decision Tuesday means that federal regulators cannot override state regulators who deny a transmission line in Clark County.

The Public Utilities Commission and Nevada State Office of Energy joined in written comments opposing designation of part of Clark County as a transmission corridor, complaining that an August 2006 study does not identify Clark County as a "critical congestion area" for transmission.

Nevada officials also objected, because the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could overrule a decision by the state commission to deny a transmission line within a federally designated corridor.

Other states, including Arizona, also disliked the idea of a federal agency having the ability to override state regulatory rejection of a transmission line within a corridor. But no corridor other than the one proposed in Clark County was deleted from the proposed list of designated corridors for high-voltage, 125-foot-tall transmission lines that carry power around the region.

DOE created transmission corridors in 45 million acres in seven counties in Southern California and three in Arizona.

The mid-Atlantic power corridor runs from Virginia and Washington, D.C. north to include most of Maryland, all of New Jersey and Delaware and large sections of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

"These National Corridors serve as an important indication by the federal government that significant transmission constraint or congestion problems existing," Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman said in a statement. "The goal is simple -- to keep reliable supplies of electric energy flowing to all Americans."

Explaining why Clark County was removed from the corridor, a DOE official said the department concluded electricity delivery in Southern Nevada did not now merit federal involvement, although that could change.

"We found that while there was persistent congestion, it did not rise to the level we are seeing in Southern California," said Kevin Kolevar, director of the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.

"We see growing electricity demand at a rapid rate in that county, and in the future this administration or some future administration may feel the need to go back and address that," he said. "That said, there are no plans to address that at this time."

Gov. Jim Gibbons "commended the Department of Energy for heeding Nevada's concerns," said press secretary Melissa Subbotin.

However, the governor still has questions about implementation of federal corridors on federal lands as provided in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The DOE established the corridor based on provisions in the federal energy law.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., "is comfortable with the decision," spokesman Jon Summers said.

Reid saw some logistical challenges in designating a power line corridor that could include Las Vegas and natural attractions such as Red Rock Canyon and Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Summers said.

Nevada Power Co. spokeswoman Andrea Smith said the company was neutral on the possibility of federal transmission corridor designation. She said the utility works with state officials when it needs to build transmission lines.

The Sierra Club in Southern Nevada was relieved that no national corridor was approved in Clark County, spokeswoman Lydia Ball said. She said she worried that the transmission corridor could detract from the natural beauty of the Valley of Fire, Moapa Valley Wildlife Refuge or Spring Mountain Ranch, as well as affecting homes in urban areas.

Nada Culver, senior counsel for the Wilderness Society, said she remains concerned about transmission lines being built in the Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Carrizo Plain National Monument and San Diego National Wildlife Refuge in California, as well as the Sonoran Desert National Mountain and the Kofa National Wildlife National Refuge in Arizona.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.