Sea Breeze Files For First Power Line

Nickle's Energy Analects
8 December 2005

The National Energy Board (NEB) reports it has received an application for the construction of a 150-kilovolt, high-voltage, direct-current, international power line (IPL) connecting Vancouver Island and Washington.

The NEB said the proposal from a subsidiary of Sea Breeze Power Corp. would extend a transmission line for 47 kilometres from View Royal, British Columbia, near Victoria, southward across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port Angeles, Washington.

About 12 kilometres of the line would be onshore, with the remainder to extend underwater across the strait, the NEB said in noting the Sea Breeze subsidiary also proposes to construct a converter station near existing substations on Vancouver Island.

The proponent would like to start construction in November 2006, the NEB said in noting it would establish procedures for the public hearing process in early 2006.

The NEB said it anticipates conducting at least one public information session on its processes for the filing.

Sea Breeze has proposed two IPL -- the one connecting to Port Angeles from Victoria and another connecting Vancouver to Fairmount, Washington, which could be available for service as soon as 2008.

The interconnecting utilities for two IPL, which have been under development since October 2003, would be British Columbia Transmission Corporation (BCTC) in B.C. and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in Washington.

Sea Breeze made its first interconnection filings to the BCTC and BPA in June 2004.

The NEB authorizes IPL projects on behalf of the federal government.

The NEB application was filed by Sea Breeze Victoria Converter Corporation, which was established by Sea Breeze Pacific Juan de Fuca Cable, LP.

The partnership is owned equally by Vancouver-based Sea Breeze and Boundless Energy NW, Inc. of York Harbor, Maine.

NEB news release, 07-Dec-2005

Application submitted to NEB