You may not know this, but if you live or work in the city of Riverside all the electricity you use is delivered through a single connection to the state’s enormous electric network. You are completely dependent upon having this delicate link in service every second, every day, every year. Imagine someone flipped a switch cutting off this flow of power. Riverside hospitals, public safety facilities, the county jail, courthouses, water pumping for fire-fighting, schools and other vital functions would stop working instantaneously.
This is not fear-mongering. In December 2007, electric transmission service was shut off to the entire city when this lone connection to the state grid was cut due to a problem related to Southern California Edison’s Vista Substation.
Riverside houses county government and provides vital services to not just the city of Riverside, but to the entire region. Riverside is the 12th largest city in California and the 59th most populous city in the United States. We are the only city among the top 20 cities in California that has only one interconnection to the state electric network. In fact, cities that are a fraction of the size of Riverside — for example, the cities of Jurupa Valley and Norco — enjoy reliable electric service provided from more than 10 Edison substations. Riverside is serviced by only one Edison substation.
Securing reliable electric transmission service is essential to Riverside’s future. Riverside Public Utilities has been working diligently for more than 20 years to secure an additional connection to the state grid. A second connection means that if the existing connection goes down, the city’s entire power supply would not be shut down.
The Riverside Transmission Reliability Project (RTRP) is a joint project between the city of Riverside and Edison that would provide the city with the additional transmission connection to the state grid that we must have. Building RTRP will also improve reliability for Edison customers in addition to Riverside customers. Additionally, the project will allow Riverside to purchase larger amounts of cleaner power from the statewide wholesale energy market. This will be an environmental benefit beyond the boundaries of the city.
RTRP includes the construction of a new substation and high-voltage transmission lines within Riverside, and about 10 miles of a 230-kilovolt transmission line that would travel down the south side of the Santa Ana River in the Riverside, then head north across the river into of Jurupa Valley where it winds its way parallel to Interstate 15 to where it connects to the state grid at a point very close to the intersection of Cantu-Galleano Ranch Road and Wineville Road.
The cities of Jurupa Valley and Norco have publicly opposed this project. They self-servingly argue that Riverside is the sole beneficiary of this project. It is important to remember that no community gets its electricity without utilizing electric lines that cross somebody else’s property. Jurupa Valley and Norco obtain their very reliable power using overhead transmission lines that cross the jurisdiction of other cities. This is the nature of a statewide grid — it provides power to everyone, and everyone shares in the burden of paying for (and looking at) power lines and substations.
Even though Jurupa Valley and Norco receive electricity using overhead transmission lines that run through their neighbors, they are demanding that the RTRP lines be placed underground. Placing the entire RTRP project underground would make the project 10 times more expensive, which is not practical. They have also suggested that Riverside residents and businesses should pay the additional $50-$100 million to underground RTRP in Jurupa Valley. Doing this would require huge electric rate increases for Riverside residents and businesses, and Riverside County taxpayers, who pay the county’s utility bills.
The protest by Jurupa Valley and Norco is interesting when one considers multiple transmission lines were built to provide those cities with the reliable service they still enjoy today. Those lines were paid for by money collected by users of the grid in California, including money paid by the residents and businesses in the Riverside. Our residents and businesses have paid the statewide electric grid operator approximately $175 million since 2003 to use, maintain and build the statewide grid. In 2016, Riverside residents and businesses paid $68,000 each day to the statewide electric grid operator to use and maintain the entire electric network. We will continue to pay our share in 2017 and beyond to ensure the electric grid is reliable.
Furthermore, Riverside has already spent $200 million in the last 10 years to build generators to keep the lights on during days of high demands. If RTRP were in place, we would not have needed to invest in these power plants.
Riverside residents and businesses deserve the same level of reliable electric service that other cities in our region enjoy. Today electric transmission service to the city of Riverside is at risk for a catastrophic blackout if action is not taken. After years of lawyers, regulators, bureaucrats, and now, this extortionate nonsense from Jurupa Valley and Norco, it is time for the RTRP project to move forward.
When Riverside has two transmission interconnections to the state grid, we can sleep better, knowing that we have ensured secure power for a healthy and resilient region, city and community for generations to come.
Girish Balachandran is general manager of Riverside Public Utilities. David Austin is chairman of the board of Riverside Public Utilities.
