SCE Downs Substation Expansion Project
Project Specifications
Client: California Public Utilities Commission
Location: Kern County, San Bernardino County
Services: Environmental Review & Permitting, Biological Resources, Compliance & Construction Monitoring
Under Contract to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Aspen prepared an Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for Southern California Edison’s (SCE) proposed Downs Substation Expansion Project. The project includes upgrading and expanding the existing Downs 33/12-kilovolt (kV) Substation to a 115/12-kV substation containing a 33-kV switchrack; Routing an existing 115-kV subtransmission line into and out of the proposed substation; and installing a fiber optic telecommunication system (including 58 miles of fiber optic telecommunication cable) to provide communication circuits for the protection, monitoring, and control of subtransmission and substation equipment. The expansion of Downs Substation requires an additional 2.5 acres of land adjacent to the existing Downs Substation. The project was necessary to serve increased electrical demand in the Electrical Needs Area (portions of the city of Ridgecrest and surrounding areas of unincorporated Kern County and San Bernardino County), as well as to improve system reliability and enhance operational flexibility.
Aspen prepared the draft IS/MND for the Downs Substation Expansion Project, which was issued in January 2012. Potential issues of concern include biological resources, as the project is located in areas known for desert tortoise and Mojave ground squirrel. The final IS/MND, with responses to all comment letters received on the draft IS/MND, was published July 2012.
Construction began in November 2014 and the project was energized in January 2016. Aspen provided on-site environmental monitoring during project construction to ensure compliance with project Mitigation Measures, applicant-proposed measures, approved permit conditions, and compliance plans. Aspen reviewed Notice to Proceed (NTP) requests for construction to ensure preconstruction compliance requirements had been satisfied, including plan review, and prepared recommended NTPs for the CPUC Project Manager. Aspen also reviewed and field validated project change requests during construction and provided the CPUC Project Manager with recommended approval/denial letters, as well as prepared monitoring reports documenting construction status and compliance activities, which were posted on the CPUC’s project website. Aspen prepared a Final Report documenting all construction and compliance activities.