The $1.9bn project will initially add up to 800MW of additional imported power into San Diego, and will eventually carry 1,000MW of power from the Imperial Valley to San Diego County, enough energy to serve 650,000 homes.
SDG&E chairman and chief executive officer Jessie J Knight Jr said, "Design, planning, construction and implementation of the project required scores of public hearings, detailed construction schedules to accommodate a wide array of environmental regulations and coordination of thousands of helicopter flights to ferry crews and material to the construction sites along the route."
The California Independent System Operator Corporation president and chief executive officer Steve Berberich said, "Sunrise Powerlink is more valuable today than when it was conceived because of the significant reliability benefits it brings helping to compensate for the loss of power from the San Onofre power plant this summer."
The 117 mile transmission line has more than 110 miles of overhead 500kV and 230kV transmission towers and conductor, 6.2 miles of underground 230kV cable and a 40-acre, 500kV transmission substation, which reduces the voltage for use by homes and businesses.
