Henderson Planning Commission delays vote on power lines

By Jeremy Twitchell

Friday, May 29, 2009 | 3:48 p.m.

For the second time, the Henderson Planning Commission delayed action Thursday night on a controversial power line proposal in east Henderson.

NV Energy has requested a use permit to upgrade a three-line, 69 kilovolt transmission line that runs through the Section 4 and Tuscany neighborhoods to a four-line, 230 kilovolt line.

The change would require the utility company to replace the present line’s 36-foot wooden poles with 130-foot metal poles.

But after residents said the poles would devalue their homes and make them harder to sell — one resident argued that many lenders won’t fund the purchase of home located within the “fall zone” of a pole that large — the commissioners voted 3-1 to delay the matter to June 25 so NV Energy could respond to that claim and other concerns.

NV Energy Government Affairs Executive Dave Rigdon requested the commission take a vote instead, even if it was a no vote, so NV Energy could move on with the process. If the commission voted no, NV Energy could have appealed to the City Council, just as residents could appeal a yes vote, he said.

“We need to get some certainty as to how we’re moving forward,” Rigdon said. “We’ve presented all the information that we believe is necessary to make a decision, and we don’t think that dragging all the neighbors down here for yet another hearing is going to do anything to add to the process.”

Nevertheless, he said, he respected the commission’s concerns and would do his best to gather the requested information during the four-week continuance.

In January, after residents in Section 4 objected to the proposal, the Planning Commission asked NV Energy to evaluate alternate routes.

Rigdon said NV Energy evaluated six possible alternatives and came to the conclusion that the existing corridor through Section 4 would be the most cost effective, with an estimated cost of $27 million.

The other five routes would require extra cables, additional towers and the acquisition of more right-of-way, he said. The cost would range from $32 million to $46.5 million, he said.

“We ran those through a pretty extensive process,” Rigdon said. “We’re not just looking at cost; there are other factors we considered in the process. First and foremost was reliability, and then we look at constructability. … We believe this analysis of those six routes shows that our original proposal was the most practical.”

Section 4 resident Jeff Coleman said the project would be an eyesore and that he has concerns about the safety of electromagnetic frequency (EMF) waves that the high-voltage lines emit

Rigdon said NV Energy is working with homeowners to place poles in locations that will have the least aesthetic impact.

As for the EMF waves, he said, the amount generated would be less than guidelines set by other municipalities and institutions for acceptable EMF exposure. Nevada does not have a guideline for EMF exposure, nor does the federal government.

Rigdon said the line will be necessary to meet Henderson’s power needs as soon as 2013.

The area is near capacity, he said, and he pointed out that two redevelopment projects in the downtown area have been delayed in part because the power grid wasn’t sufficient to support them.