The Arizona Corporation Commission on Tuesday approved the Southline Transmission Project, which will add 240 miles of new high-voltage lines in Arizona and New Mexico and upgrade another 120 miles of lines from near Wilcox to a substation northwest of Tucson.
Southline, sponsored by Dallas-based transmission provider Hunt Power, won approval from both the Western Area Power Administration and the Bureau of Land Management last year. It will connect with Tucson Electric Power Co.’s substation near Vail.
The Coporation Commission granted the project a certificate of environmental compatibility after amending the plan to lessen effects on Mountain View Ranch, a development along Interstate 10 east of Vail. The original route also was altered to avoid wine-growing areas near Willcox.
About a year ago, the Corporation Commission approved the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project, a 515-mile line also traversing New Mexico and east-central Arizona, despite the objections of environmentalists who said the project would endanger sensitive areas along the San Pedro River.
