El Paso Electric

PUBLIC/MEDIA ADVISORY: Arizona Wildfires Threaten El Paso Electric Transmission Lines

The Wallow Fire in eastern Arizona, which has grown to more than 233,000 acres and has resulted in the evacuations of nearby communities, is dangerously close to key transmission line facilities located near Springerville, Arizona.  At the current rate of speed, the fire is expected to reach the Springerville line within the next three days.

El Paso Electric owns one 345 kV transmission line and co-owns another 345 kV line that carry power from the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona to EPE’s Southern New Mexico/West Texas service territory.  Combined, the lines carry 633 MW to EPE, which is almost 40 percent of EPE’s available generation.  These lines also carry power to other utilities which may be adversely impacted.

In the event that the transmission lines are compromised or damaged as a result of fires or other threats, EPE’s capability to import power from Palo Verde may be reduced and as a result EPE may have to institute power curtailment/conservation measures.  Some of these measures may include rolling blackouts. 

A rolling blackout, also referred to as load shedding, is an engineered electrical power outage where delivery of electricity is stopped for periods of time over geographical regions. Rolling blackouts are a last-resort measure used by an electric utility in order to avoid a total blackout of the power system. They are usually in response to a situation where the demand for electricity exceeds the power supply capability of the network.

El Paso Electric has begun to make adjustments in its system to lessen the impact to customers if the lines are adversely affected by the wildfires and will continue to monitor the situation in Arizona.  If EPE determines that curtailment/conservation measures are required, El Paso Electric will inform customers, government agencies, and the news media of the need to curtail power in EPE’s service territory.
 
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