A major kink in the controversial plan to build hundreds of miles of power transmission lines across Northern California. The original plan was to put in a pair of 600-mile long power lines stretching from the Bay Area to Lassen County.
Now the largest shareholder, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, or SMUD, has pulled out of the project. Redding Electric Utility director Paul Hauser is a board member on the TANC project. He says this new development will likely end the TANC project.
According to Hauser, SMUD, represented roughly 57% of the ownership stake in the project. SMUD had already poured $2 million into the line's estimated $1.5 billion cost.
Hauser says, for Redding, this project would have helped keep future costs down but it won't mean any immediate price hikes.
Other TANC members say they will continue planning the project while they look for other interested utilities.
Land owners have spoken out against construction of large power transmission towers saying they are unsightly, unneeded and potentially hazardous. Opponents have vowed to continue their fight, despite SMUD's decision.
In light of this development, all remaining public outreach meetings scheduled for July have been postponed, including meetings scheduled next week in Redding and Orland.
