Kino to DeMoss-Petrie 138 Kilovolt Transmission Line

• TEP Company’s Status Report —Nov. 29, 2021
• Transcript of Status Hearing—Jan. 12, 2022

Application & Exhibits A-I

• Full-size PDF 463mb
• Reduced-size PDF 85mb

Exhibit J

• Full-size PDF 435mb
• Reduced-size PDF 160mb

• Notice of Hearing—signed Aug. 11, 2021
• Transcript of Prehearing Conference to Reschedule Hearing—Sept. 8, 2021

TEP encourages residents, property owners and others to share their input by:

• Mailing a letter with comments to:

P.O. Box 711
ATTN: Kino-DMP
Mail Stop RC131
Tucson, AZ 85701-0711

• Sending comments to KINO2DMP@tep.com
• Calling 1-833-523-0887 and leaving a voicemail message

• Prevention of power outages and inadequate voltage. By increasing electric capacity, TEP can avoid overload conditions that can damage equipment, causing outages or low voltage for residential and other customers. Some lower-voltage feeder lines in the study area have reached or are approaching their capacity limitations.
• Service for growing energy needs. Increased electrical capacity would allow TEP to better serve customers throughout the study area, even during summer months when customers’ need for power is highest. Peak energy demands throughout TEP’s service territory have increased by about 9 percent since mid-2015. New infrastructure would help meet customers’ current and future energy needs.
• Improved electric reliability. New energy infrastructure will strengthen reliability for homes and businesses in the study area by adding redundancy, allowing TEP to deliver energy from more than one direction.
• Replacement of aging infrastructure. A large transformer, electric switchgear and other substation equipment currently providing service to some area customers are nearing the end of their useful lives and must be replaced within the next five years.
• Support for the University of Arizona and the Banner – University Medical Center Tucson campus and emergency room. The new line will tie into TEP’s 138 kV transmission system to accommodate increased energy demands.

In determining where to locate new energy infrastructure, TEP considers the projected energy needs of nearby residential and commercial customers, anticipated economic development, proximity to existing equipment, project costs, geography, the environment, public input and other factors. Transmission lines link substations that change the voltage of electric facilities for distribution and delivery of electric service to area customers.

TEP is evaluating potential transmission line routes within a defined study area that could interconnect existing and planned substations that include:

• Kino Substation: TEP is building a new substation at the southeast corner of South Kino Parkway and East 36th Street to accommodate growing energy demands and support expected economic development in the area. The substation will occupy about 4.5 acres. Construction began in September 2019. The substation is scheduled to be in service in 2020.
• Vine Substation: This planned substation will tie into TEP’s 138 kV transmission system to accommodate increased energy demands in the area. It also will help maintain reliable service by supporting the eventual retirement of aging, lower capacity 46 kV substations.
• DeMoss-Petrie (DMP) Substation: Located near Interstate 10 and West Grant Road, the substation serves as the point of
  interconnection for several high-voltage transmission lines and natural gas generating resources and an energy storage system.

TEP will use input from customers, stakeholders and other members of the public to identify potential alternative transmission line routes within the study area. Members of the community will have additional opportunities to comment on these potential alternative routes in the future.

The Kino to DeMoss-Petrie line will cross private property and utilize road right of way within the City of Tucson. Interconnecting the Kino Substation and planned Vine Substation to the existing DeMoss-Petrie Substation will strengthen reliability by adding redundancy, allowing TEP to deliver energy from more than one direction.

TEP would build the line with self-weathering steel monopoles that stand between 75-110 feet tall. Taller structures may be required at major road or line crossings.

Under state law, TEP must secure a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) before building the transmission line. TEP has withdrawn the CEC application originally filed in August 2021 with the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee, which reviews CEC applications in a public process that allows neighbors and other stakeholders to provide comments. A new application will be filed after an updated stakeholder review process. TEP must also obtain a Special Exception Land Use Permit from the City of Tucson for the Vine Substation.