SUNRISE POWERLINK CONSTRUCTION SUMMARY OVERHEAD TRANSMISSION LINE AND SUBSTATIONS

April 16, 2012

Overhead construction activity in San Diego and Imperial Counties continues on several tracks, including installing tower foundations, completing steel lattice towers, stringing wire and constructing and improving access roads. SDG&E also is developing the new Suncrest Substation, and upgrading existing substations and other facilities to accommodate increased power from the new line.

As of April 14, SDG&E has completed 432 tower foundations and 337 overhead structures. More than 75 miles of conductor has been strung. Construction of the new Suncrest Substation east of Alpine is 99 percent complete.

Outlook for week of April 16-21

• Link 1*: Conducting road activities and improvements in the McCain Valley, Monday-Saturday. Preparing tower sites and installing foundations in the McCain Valley, Monday-Saturday. Assembling and installing lattice towers in the McCain Valley, Monday-Saturday. Conducting wire stringing activities in the Mc Cain Valley and near Jacumba, Monday-Saturday.
• Link 2*: Conducting road improvements just east of the Suncrest Substation, in the Barrett Canyon and Bartlett Hauser Creek areas, Monday-Saturday. Installing tower foundations just east of the Suncrest Substation as well as in the Barrett Canyon, Bartlett Hauser Creek and La Posta areas, Monday-Saturday. Assembling and installing lattice towers just east of the Suncrest Substation and in the Barrett Canyon and Bartlett Hauser Creek areas, Monday-Saturday.
• Link 3: (Suncrest Substation): Fencing, landscaping, warehouse construction and cleanup, Monday-Saturday.
• Link 5*: Conducting road improvements in the Sycamore Canyon and El Monte areas, Monday-Saturday. Conducting wire stringing activities in the San Vicente area and just west of El Monte, Monday-Saturday.

Outlook for week of April 23-28

• Link 1*: Conducting road activities and improvements in the McCain Valley, Monday-Saturday. Preparing tower sites and installing foundations in the McCain Valley, Monday-Saturday. Assembling and installing lattice towers in the McCain Valley, Monday-Saturday. Conducting wire stringing activities in the Mc Cain Valley and near Jacumba, Monday-Saturday.
• Link 2*: Conducting road improvements just east of the Suncrest Substation, in the Barrett Canyon and Bartlett Hauser Creek areas, Monday-Saturday. Installing tower foundations just east of the Suncrest Substation as well as in the Barrett Canyon, Bartlett Hauser Creek and La Posta areas, Monday-Saturday. Assembling and installing lattice towers just east of the Suncrest Substation and in the Barrett Canyon and Bartlett Hauser Creek areas, Monday-Saturday.
• Link 3: (Suncrest Substation): Warehouse construction and cleanup, Monday-Saturday.
• Link 5*: Conducting road improvements in the Sycamore Canyon and El Monte areas, Monday-Saturday. Conducting wire stringing activities in the San Vicente area and just west of El Monte, Monday-Saturday.

In order to bolster construction activities and ensure the project is completed as quickly as possible, SDG&E requested and received approval from the County of San Diego to work on certain Sundays in some work locations between February 26 and May 28. The Sunday work will occur between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. in three segments along the Sunrise Powerlink route. Each construction location may require work for several Sundays, but by no means will encompass every Sunday outlined in the County's Noise Variance decision.

The Sunday work is necessary for several reasons, including completing construction activities near or in recreational areas such as the Cleveland National Forest. The Sunday work will allow construction to be completed as quickly as possible in these areas during low-use winter months and avoid any impacts during peak use summer months. In addition, the Sunday work will minimize the impacts of potential electric service interruptions related to construction; and provide the extra time needed to complete sections of the project before the height of bird nesting season this spring. SDG&E is required to minimize construction activities around active bird nests during this time.

There are also three highway crossing locations where work may take place from sunrise to 10:00 a.m. Caltrans encroachment permits for the construction work at these highway crossings requires that construction operations within state highways take place only on Sunday mornings. The Sunday work will allow construction in these areas during low-use winter months and avoid any impacts during peak use summer months and before the height of bird nesting season this spring.

The information provided above is a general overview of potential construction activities for the weeks of April 16-21 and April 23-28. Community requests, weather conditions and other considerations will be taken into account when determining daily work assignments. Construction schedules are subject to change without notice.

*Link definitions: Link 1 starts at the Imperial Valley Substation and runs west near the communities of Jacumba and Boulevard to the boundary of the Cleveland National Forest (CNF). Link 2 continues west through CNF and north of Campo until it reaches Link 3, which is the site of the new Suncrest Substation east of Alpine. Link 4 is the 6.2 mile underground segment along Alpine Boulevard (see separate weekly update). Link 5 consists of two segments of 230kV overhead transmission line on either side of the Alpine underground segment, one that runs from the Suncrest Substation to Alpine and the other that starts west of Alpine and runs to the Sycamore Canyon Substation – where the project connects to the existing SDG&E system.