Salt Lake City power-line plan stirs wrath of councilmen

Luke Garrott said he's "steamin' mad" and fellow Salt Lake City Council newcomer JT Martin is equally irritated over Rocky Mountain Power's plans to upgrade a transmission line in a residential area along 800 South between 1100 East and 1900 East.

The two first-year council members made their opposition to the project clear to Rocky Mountain Power representatives Tuesday afternoon during a City Council work session.

The project calls for the power company's 46,000-volt line to be converted to 138,000 volts, raising the 40-plus power poles' height by about 10 feet to 85 feet tall and increasing their width by about 8 inches.

The bigger, taller power poles will be located in people's yards, Martin said, negatively impacting the value of their homes and possibly posing heath risks to those living in close proximity.

"No one really knows what the health concerns are from those power lines," he said.

Garrott and Martin both took issue with Rocky Mountain Power officials' claims that the upgrade on 800 South is needed to meet growth in the area — which already is built out — as well as surrounding areas.

Alene Bentley, community manager for Rocky Mountain Power, said people's power demands continue to increase, even in built-out areas.

But Martin questioned whether the need for upgrades are driven by increased power demands at neighboring University of Utah.

"If the lion's share of (power) is going to our good neighbors at the University of Utah but it's impacting the back yards of these (Salt Lake City residents), I need to know that," he said.

Garrott criticized Rocky Mountain Power officials for settling on converting to higher-voltage lines to meet energy demands without giving residents a choice to reduce their consumption or by producing power on site through alternate energy methods such as solar.

"This is yesterday's plan," he said, "and I'm going to be opposing it every step of the way."

State statute provides municipalities the option to bury power lines as long as they cover the cost difference for above-and below-ground construction. According to bids received by Rocky Mountain Power, burying the lines would increase the cost of the $6.3 million project to $28.4 million, leaving the city to cover the $22.1 million.