investing in reliability - northwesternenergy.com sky upgrade: northwestern is in the homestretch of...
TRANSCRIPT
Big Sky is one of the fastest growing areas of Montana.
Commercial and residential growth in Big Sky is under
way and the demand for electricity to serve businesses,
residents and visitors is increasing significantly.
NorthWestern Energy is working to keep abreast of the
growth and anticipate future needs in this scenic portion
of Montana.
The Big Sky Community: NorthWestern currently
serves about 4,200 electric customers in the Big Sky
area. Customers include single residential and multi-unit
housing, light commercial, the Big Sky and Moonlight Basin
ski resorts, and several large, private residential and ski
areas, including the Yellowstone Club and Spanish Peaks
developments. Based on current growth patterns and plans
announced by a number of these entities, NorthWestern
expects to see higher-than-average load growth in this area
in the next decade.
The Big Sky area is currently served by two 69 kV
transmission lines, one stretching from the Jackrabbit
substation west of Bozeman to the Meadow Village area,
the other reaching Big Sky from Ennis. During times of
heavy demand for electricity, typically in the winter months,
an outage on either transmission line can leave the other
unable to fully provide the electricity that Big Sky needs.
In some conditions, extended outages, blackouts, safety
issues and customer inconvenience could be the result.
Jackrabbit-Big Sky Upgrade: NorthWestern is in the
homestretch of a $45 million transmission upgrade focused
on the 69 kV line from Four Corners to Meadow Village. The
line is being upgraded to a 161 kV line, which more than
doubles its capacity and will allow us to more reliably serve
existing customers and allow for future demand growth.
The line, which largely follows an existing route through
the Gallatin Canyon, is scheduled to be complete in the
fall of 2016.
Investing in ReliabilityBig Sky Master Plan 2016
Photo by Chris Kamman
November 2015
Assessing future needs: While increasing the amount of
electricity available in the area is straightforward, developing
a distribution system capable of reliably delivering it
to customers is not. The area is now served by two
substations, one in the Lone Mountain area and the other
in Meadow Village, along with a network of distributions
lines that provide power from the substations to homes
and businesses. To keep up with the growth of Big Sky,
NorthWestern’s electrical infrastructure in the area will need
to grow as well. We are currently assessing our existing
infrastructure in the Big Sky area and developing plans for
upgrades and additional new electrical infrastructure to
serve the area. As we do in all of the communities we serve,
NorthWestern Energy regularly performs short term and
long term engineering studies to determine our ability to
reliably serve our existing customers and meet the needs of
the community. We also work closely with elected officials,
community leaders and others to develop growth plans.
The short-range plan:
In addition to the completion of the JackRabbit-Big Sky
transmission line upgrade in 2016, NorthWestern Energy
has plans to upgrade the existing substations at Meadow
Village and Lone Mountain to provide additional capacity to
serve the area. These upgrades are expected to begin in
2016 and be complete in 2017.
A long-range plan:
Northwestern has developed an extensive
list of possible upgrades to its electric
transmission and distribution system in Big
Sky. The timeline for projects on the list
stretches from 2016 through 2030. During
this time frame, the demand for electricity
is expected to grow to nearly four times its
current level. The list of upgrades includes:
• The need for a third substation in the
mid-mountain area
• Upgrades to the transmission line from
Ennis to Big Sky
• Upgrades and additions to the distribution
network
• Upgrades to the transmission line between Lone Mountain
and Meadow Village
For more information about the Big Sky project,
please contact:
Community Contact:
Heather Bellamy
Manager, Community Relations
(406) 570-2092
Project Contact:
Tom Pankratz
Director, Major Projects
(406) 443-8950
Operations Contact:
Pat Patterson
Manager, Operations-Bozeman Division
(406) 582-4687