Expanded Power Lines on Old Stage Road Pose Fire Risk!
1/4/21
First Call for Action in 2021!
It takes our collective voices to make change. Contact the Mt. Shasta City Council, Board of Supervisors and the Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and demand the power lines be put underground. They need to hear from the community!
Speaking at the December 14 Mount Shasta City Council meeting, W.A.T.E.R. continued to push for undergrounding the proposed power line expansion along Old Stage Rd, crossing Fish Hatchery Ln. This project proposes to enlarge and heighten the power lines leading from the power substation to the Crystal Geyser plant, the primary beneficiary of this project. This power line project should be undergrounded to prevent fire dangers and not paid for by rate payers. W.A.T.E.R. board member Geneva Omann told the council members: “Undergrounding is more expensive, although not nearly as expensive as burning down a whole town and its beautiful surroundings.” She went on to provide ideas for funding this project. See her full comments HERE. W.A.T.E.R. board member Dan Axelrod further informed the city council, “There is no question that above-ground power lines are far more susceptible to weather and wind damage and to starting fires than undergrounded lines. As you know, the Sierra foothill town of Paradise was destroyed two years ago by a PGE above-ground powerline failure, and they are now rebuilding the lines entirely underground because that is safer. Indeed, Pacific Power also knows the hazard, which is why they are now doing power shutoffs on hot windy days, done twice this year already in parts of this area, a strategy that has its own obvious inherent public safety risks.” See his full comments HERE. W.A.T.E.R. has also written to the CPUC, see our letter HERE and to the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, see HERE.
Make your voice heard!
Contact the Mount Shasta City Council, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors and the Californian Public Utilities Commission with your concerns about this project and demand they work together with Pacific Power to underground the power transmission and distribution lines (cite project number CPUC # A.15-11-005).
Contact Links:
Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors
California Public Utilities Commission, Docket Office
505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 2001
San Francisco, CA 94102
public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov
