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A proposed 215-mile-long transmission line in Oregon may be reduced by about half.

Portland General Electric and the Bonneville Power Administration announced this week that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue a potentially significant change to the Cascade Crossing Transmission Project. It was proposed in 2010 to meet growing energy demands, and originally would have stretched between Boardman and Salem.

Now, PGE and the BPA are weighing whether to build only the section between Boardman and Pine Grove (about 18 miles southwest of Maupin) 鈥� effectively eliminating a 101-mile stretch to Salem that would have carved through areas in the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation, the Mount Hood and Willamette national forests, private forest and agricultural land.

鈥淲e are in the very early stages of exploring how this would work,鈥� said Doug Johnson, a spokesman for the BPA. 鈥淭here is a lot of work that needs to be done to really investigate and evaluate how this will work and how a host of things associated with it could be affected 鈥� but our view is if you can gain the environmental benefits that you get from eliminating approximately 100 miles of proposed line, and increase capacity and achieve together something that you could not achieve independently of one another, it鈥檚 worth exploring.鈥�

The idea calls for building a large substation, in Pine Grove, so that PGE and the BPZ could tap into each others power grids. Details are being negotiated, but the BPA reported that PGE would invest in grid enhancements and/or exchange assets with the BPA to increase capacity.

The original construction cost estimate was somewhere between $800 million and $1 billion. Steve Corson, a PGE spokesman, said it was too early to say how the proposed changes would impact that estimate.

鈥淏ut any way you slice it there鈥檚 a pretty significant construction effort and significant capital effort involved in pursuing this,鈥� he said.

Corson said the project stems from discussions with the Oregon Public Utilities Commission in 2004, when future transmission constraints were identified. Transmission lines 鈥� essentially the freeways of the electrical system 鈥� are becoming congested: PGE anticipates total load growth to increase 45 percent by 2030. Also, future wind farm development in Eastern Oregon is expected to tax the system.

Corson said PGE has been working with local, state and federal jurisdictions for years on the necessary permitting for the massive project.

鈥淚n the course of this we鈥檝e also been engaged from the beginning really with various transmission forums in the region to see how we can coordinate this because we鈥檙e not the only ones with transmission needs,鈥� Corson said. 鈥淭he region as a whole hasn鈥檛 built any major new transmissions for 15 to 20 years.鈥�

That鈥檚 about to change.

PGE has signed an MOU with Idaho Power to explore joint use of an approximately 300-mile-long transmission line that Idaho Power is building between Boardman and Southwest Idaho.

Other projects in the works include a 2,000-mile-long transmission line running through Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon (PacifiCorp); a 79-mile line running between the McNary and John Day dams (BPA); a 27-mile-long line between The Dalles and Goldendale, Wash. (BPA); and a 70-mile-long line that would run between Troutdale and Castle Rock, Wash. (BPA).

PGE recently received a determination of completeness for the Cascade Crossing project from the state鈥檚 Energy Facility Siting Council. It basically acknowledges that the utility鈥檚 application is complete and may be submitted for review.

Corson said PGE鈥檚 original projection was to start construction by mid-2014 and be up and running by 2017. He said the utility was not in a position to discuss how configuration changes might affect that timeline.

Corson said the possible changes would benefit multiple parties.

鈥淭aking off the portion of the project that crosses over the reservation and sensitive areas in the national forest across the Cascades certainly reduces the environmental impacts on the project, and that鈥檚 a positive from anyone鈥檚 perspective,鈥� he said.

(Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct length of a pipeline being built between Boardman, Ore., and Southwest Idaho.)