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Rocky Mountain Power outlines Gateway South timing, route and Utah County impacts
Summary
Pacificorp/Rocky Mountain Power briefed the commission on Gateway South: the project received federal records of decision in 2016–17, includes roughly 47.1 miles in Utah County of a 416-mile, 500kV route, needs local conditional‑use permits and BLM notices before construction can start, with potential in‑service by end of 2023.
Rocky Mountain Power gave Utah County commissioners an update on the Gateway South transmission project, describing regulatory milestones, route details and next steps for local permitting.
"After about an 8 or 9 year journey with the federal permitting process for Gateway South, we're finally at a point where we're looking forward to advance that project," said Rod Fisher, principal project manager for Pacificorp's Gateway transmission program. Fisher said the company received federal permits and a record of decision in 2016–17 and is now completing numerous requirements before the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service can issue notices to proceed.
Fisher said the selected alternative route remains the same as identified in 2012, with one landowner‑driven reroute proposed in the Emma Park area that would shift about 17 miles of alignment. In Utah County, he said, the project accounts for 47.1 miles of new line of the 416 total; about 8.3 miles cross U.S. Forest Service land, 3 miles cross BLM land, roughly 9.6 miles cross state lands and about 26 miles cross private lands.
The project is a 500,000‑volt alternating current transmission line with roughly four to five towers per mile and a typical right‑of‑way width of 250 feet, Fisher said. Local approvals will include pre‑application meetings with planning staff, conditional‑use permit submittals and planning‑commission and board review; Fisher said the company anticipates approvals later in the fall and a construction start the next spring, if federal notices are granted.
Commissioners asked about corridor conflicts with a proposed railroad alignment and about coordination on permitting and landowner outreach. Fisher said Pacificorp is coordinating with the railroad and landowners and will set up local pre‑application meetings in July or early August.
