posted on Thursday, September 21, 2006 9:13 AM by Tracy Davis

Canadian NEB Approves Sea Breeze Proposal to Build Merchant Transmission to U.S.

In a September 7 order, the Canadian National Energy Board (NEB) approved Sea Breeze Victoria Converter Corp.'s proposal to construct and operate a 30-mile, 574 MW high-voltage direct current transmission line from Victoria, British Columbia to Port Angeles, Washington.  Expected to begin construction in 2007, Sea Breeze will build the transmission line under the Juan de Fuca Strait, interconnecting with the Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA) system via a 150 kV tie line.  The NEB's approval was one of the remaining regulatory hurdles to the project's construction; FERC approved Sea Breeze's proposal in September 2005, including its application to charge negotiated rates for transmission service.

According to Sea Breeze's filings, the transmission line will enable enhanced trade between British Columbia and United States wholesale markets and will improve reliability in the Pacific Northwest.  The NEB noted the need for enhanced energy on Vancouver Island, which faces potential reliability and stability concerns resulting from a growing population and a lack of new on-island generation.  Moreover, substantial congestion on the intertie between Canada and the U.S. and on BPA's transmission system threatens to prevent BPA from fulfilling its obligation to return power to Canada pursuant to the Columbia River Treaty.  While the Sea Breeze transmission line will not be used to return Columbia River Treaty power to Canada, Sea Breeze argued in support of its project that it would relieve other congestion in the area by providing an additional transmission path between western Canada and the U.S.