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5.20 Dry Utilities

California’s electricity was generated in state; approximately 12.2 percent came from the
Pacific Northwest; and approximately 25.1 percent came from the Southwest (CEC 2016).

Electrical service to the Project site is provided by Southern California Edison (SCE). SCE
uses different types of energy to produce electricity including coal, natural gas, hydroelectric
plants, nuclear energy, and renewable resources. SCE is a regulated public utility that
provides electricity to a business and residential population of approximately 15 million
people within a 50,000-square-mile service area that covers Central, Coastal, and Southern
California (SCE 2016). SCE is regulated by the CPUC, which is intended to protect consumers
from overcharge and to promote energy efficiency, system reliability, and utility financial
integrity. SCE is also required to provide service to existing and proposed future
development in its service area.

SCE has both transmission and distribution facilities located both within and near the Project
site. Transmission facilities consist of 66-kilovolt (kV), 220-kV, and 500-kV transmission
lines; distribution facilities consist of 12-kV and 6.9 kV distribution lines. Overhead 66-kV
transmission lines and 12-kV distribution lines are parallel to the northern side of State
Route (SR) 138. The Bailey Substation, located on an SCE-owned parcel in the southwestern
corner of the Project site, currently serves as a transmission-only substation and is not
equipped for distribution. The off-site Gorman Substation serves as the primary distribution
facility in the area. Located approximately 3.6 miles northwest of the Project site along
Gorman Post Road, the Gorman Substation does not have space to expand its capacity
(Peterson 2007). Existing electrical lines are shown in Exhibit 5.20-1, Known Major Utilities
in the Project Area, and Exhibit 5.20-2, Dry Utilities Improvements.

There are distribution lines that extend northeast from the existing Bailey Substation area
to the Oso Pumping Plant and north from SR-138 along Cement Plant Road to the National
Cement Plant. The existing lines to the Oso Pumping Plant run through the Open Space north
of Oso Canyon (please refer to Exhibit 5.20-1).

In addition, in September 2016, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP)
completed construction of the Barren Ridge Renewable Transmission Project (Barren Ridge
Project) to tap into renewable energy sources in the Tehachapi Mountain and Mojave Desert
areas of Southern California in the greater Project area (. The Barren Ridge Project utilizes
existing and future renewable energy sources in this area. Barren Ridge will provide
transmission access to approximately 1,000 megawatts (MW) of wind and solar power,
which include 250 MW from Beacon, 60 MW from RE Cinco, 250 MW from Springbok 1 and 2,
143 MW from Pine Tree, as well as hundreds of megawatts from several of LADWP’s hydro-
electric plants from the north. The Barren Ridge Project spans a distance of 62 miles from
the Barren Ridge Switching Station to the Haskell Canyon Switching Station (LADWP 2016).
The entire route lies designated utility corridors and parallels existing transmission lines
(LADWP 2015).

Existing land uses on the Project site are primarily ranching-related with other limited
agricultural activities. The current demand for electricity is minimal and is accommodated
by the existing facilities described above. These facilities not only serve the minimal on-site
uses, but also nearby uses as the National Cement Plant and the Alamo Pumping Plant located

R:\Projects\PAS\CEN\000306\Draft EIR\5.20 Dry Utilities-051117.docx 5.20-7 Centennial Project
Draft EIR