Public comments sought for Gateway South power line

Federal officials are hosting open houses in three central Utah towns this week to offer a look at the proposed Energy Gateway South Transmission Project, a 412-mile power line Rocky Mountain Power hopes to build between Wyoming and Mona.

The Bureau of Land Management last week released a draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposal, which features a 500-kilovolt line that would carry 1,500 megawatts from the Aeolus substation in southeastern Wyoming to Rocky Mountain Power's new Clover substation in Juab County.

BLM is considering where to grant the necessary 250-foot-wide right of way, which would feature four or five self-supporting steel lattice tower structures, between 140 feet and 190 feet high, every mile.

Gateway South is not to be confused with two proposed transmission lines that would move Wyoming wind-generated power through Utah to southern Nevada. The BLM is leading environmental analyses of TransWest Express and the Zephyr Power Transmission Project, which would carry direct current.

Because it carries alternating current, Gateway South would be able to off-ramp power along its route, unlike the other lines proposed through Utah.

The BLM's preferred route hews closely to the corridors proposed for Zephyr and TransWest, which would run through the Uinta Basin. But an alternate would run far to the south along Interstate 70 and through the San Rafael Swell, then Sevier and Sanpete counties.

bmaffly@sltrib.com —

Energy Gateway South Transmission Project

The Bureau of Land Management has scheduled a three meetings this week in Utah about a proposed 412-mile power line that would run from Wyoming to Mona, Utah. Each runs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Tuesday • Price, Carbon County Fairgrounds

Wednesday • Mount Pleasant, North Sanpete High School

Thursday • Nephi, Juab High School

The public has until May 22 to submit comments on the draft Environmental Impact Statement to GatewaySouth_WYMail@blm.gov.