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Pacific Power briefs Crook County on planned Blueprint South 500 kV transmission line
Summary
Pacific Power representatives outlined route alternatives, engineering specs and a public outreach schedule for a proposed 500-kilovolt transmission line crossing the county, saying construction would aim for service by 2032 and that public open houses begin in March.
Representatives of Power Engineers delivered a briefing to the Crook County Board of Commissioners on the planned Blueprint South 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission project being developed for Pacific Power.
The presenters said the project would link a new substation near Redmond Airport to a new substation in the Chiloquin area and connect to the existing Snow Goose substation near Klamath Falls. They described four major corridor alternatives between Redmond/Bend and Chiloquin and additional variants farther south; the study area includes private land and federal lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
Project details presented included: structures under consideration (steel lattice towers roughly just under 200 feet tall), an overall line length of roughly 80 miles depending on route, typical spans between structures of about 800–1,400 feet, and an anticipated 250-foot right-of-way. Presenters said the engineering work includes geotechnical studies for substations, biological and cultural studies, visual and land-use constraints, and consultation through community working groups.
Pacific Power representatives said the route planning phase is nearing the end of study and that public open houses are scheduled; the Prineville open house was listed for Monday, March 10, 5–7 p.m., at Carrie Foster Hall at the fairgrounds. Presenters said permitting and land acquisition would follow routing and that construction could take about three years; with permitting and the construction timeline combined, presenters said the line could be in service by 2032.
County commissioners asked whether the line would bring new generation into the region or primarily move existing power; presenters said the project does not generate power but will move existing and newly generated power across the system to increase reliability and operational flexibility. Presenters said they were using mailers to contact landowners within a half-mile of route centerlines (approximately 4,000 landowners across the full study area) and had formed community working groups that had met multiple times.
No formal county approvals or funding requests were made during the briefing; commissioners were invited to attend the public open house and to continue coordinating with staff and the project team.
