Map of the route of the Pacific Intertie transmission route and stations

The Pacific Intertie is an electric power transmission line which transmits electricity from the Pacific Northwest to the Los Angeles area using high voltage direct current. The line capacity is 3,100 megawatts which is enough to serve two to three million Los Angeles households and is 48.7% of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power electrical system peak capacity.^[1] Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (361x601, 33 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Pacific Intertie ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (361x601, 33 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Pacific Intertie ... Transmission lines in Lund, Sweden Transmission towers and lines in Coquitlam, British Columbia. ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... Darker red states are always considered part of the Pacific Northwest. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... HVDC or high-voltage, direct current electric power transmission systems contrast with the more common alternating-current systems as a means for the bulk transmission of electrical power. ... The megawatt (symbol: MW) is a unit for measuring power corresponding to one million (106) watts. ... Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal utility in the United States, serving 3. ...

The intertie originates near the Columbia River at the Celilo Converter Station outside The Dalles, Oregon and is connected exclusively to the Sylmar Converter Station north of Los Angeles which is owned by five utility companies and managed by LA DWP. Power on the Intertie flows mostly north to south, but is capable of transmitting power in either direction. Columbia River Gorge, Washington or North side The Columbia River (French: fleuve Columbia) is a river situated in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... The Dalles is a city located in Wasco County, Oregon. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ...

The idea of shipping hydroelectric power to Southern California had been proposed as early as the 1930s, but was opposed and scrapped. By 1961, U.S. president John F. Kennedy authorized a large public works project, using new high voltage direct current technology from Sweden. The project was undertaken as a close collabaration between General Electric of the U.S. and ASEA of Sweden. Private California power companies opposed the project but their technical objections were rebutted by Uno Lamm of ASEA at the IEEE meeting in New York in 1963. When completed in 1970 the combined AC and DC transmission system was estimated to save consumers in Los Angeles approximately U.S. $600,000 per day by use of electric power from projects on the Columbia River. Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. ... Southern California Downtown Los Angeles Skyline Southern California, sometimes abbreviated SoCal or colloquially, the Southland, is an informal name for the megalopolis and nearby desert that occupies the southern-most quarter of the U.S. state of California. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, John Kennedy, or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ... GE redirects here. ... ASEA (Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget) was a Swedish industry company. ... August Uno Lamm (May 22, 1904 – June 1, 1989) was a Swedish electrical engineer and inventor, sometimes called The Father of High Voltage Direct Current power transmission. ... The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers or IEEE (pronounced as eye-triple-ee) is an international non-profit, professional organization incorporated in the State of New York, United States. ... Columbia River Gorge, Washington or North side The Columbia River (French: fleuve Columbia) is a river situated in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. ...

The HVDC power line in Los Angeles (shorter tower carrying two wires on the right). The power line crosses Interstate 5 near the interchange with California 14 in Sylmar.

The Pacific Intertie takes advantage of differing power demand patterns between the northwestern and southwestern U.S. During winter, the northern region operates electrical heating devices while the southern portion uses relatively little electricity. In summer, the north uses little electricity while the south reaches peak demand due to air conditioning usage. Any time the Intertie demand lessens, the excess is distributed elsewhere on the western powergrid (states west of the Great Plains, including Colorado and New Mexico).^[2] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 650 KB) Summary Taken my me in 2005. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 650 KB) Summary Taken my me in 2005. ... HVDC or high-voltage, direct current electric power transmission systems contrast with the more common alternating-current systems as a means for the bulk transmission of electrical power. ... Power Line is a neoconservative blog run by three lawyers: John H. Hinderaker (Hindrocket), Scott W. Johnson (The Big Trunk) and Paul Mirengoff (Deacon). Power Line covers political and social issues from a conservative viewpoint. ... Nickname: City of Angels Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Area    - City 1,290. ... Interstate 5 (abbreviated I-5) is the westernmost interstate highway in the continental United States. ... JUNCTION POSTMILE I-5 LA 24. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

The Pacific Intertie consists of:

• The Celilo Converter Station which converts three phase 60 Hz AC at 235 to 525 kV to 500 kV DC.
• The grounding system at Celilo consists of 1067 cast iron anodes buried in a two foot trench of petroleum coke, which behaves as an electrode, arranged in a ring of 3255 meters (2.02 mi) circumference at Rice Flats (near Rice, Oregon), which is 10.6 km (6.5 mi) SSE of Celilo. It is connected to the converter station by two aerial cables.
• A 1362 kilometer (841 mile) overhead transmission line consisting of two uninsulated conductors 1171 mm² containing a steel wire core for strength.
• The Sylmar Converter Station which converts DC to AC (a process also called inverting) and phase-synchronized with the L.A. power grid.
• The Sylmar grounding system is 24 silicon-iron alloy electrodes submerged in the Pacific Ocean suspended in concrete enclosures about one meter above the ocean floor. The grounding array is 48 km (30 mi) from the converter station.
• The wires have a capacity of 2 gigawatts in bipolar mode and 1.55 gigawatts with earth return.^[3]

Originally only mercury arc rectifiers were used as static inverter valves. The valves were series connected in three six-pulse valve bridges for each pole. The blocking voltage of the valves was 133 kV with a maximum current of 1800 amperes, for a transmission rate of 1440 megawatts with a symmetrical voltage of 400 kV against earth. The line is the DC part of a system of four 500 kV lines that connect the Pacific Northwest with the Southwest; the AC part is Path 15. This is one of two HVDC lines serving Los Angeles, the other is the Intermountain. Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... City lights viewed in a motion blurred exposure. ... KV, kV, or kv may refer to: kilovolts, see volt Komi language ((ISO 639 alpha-2) Köchel Verzeichnis, a chronological catalogue of all the compositions of Mozart: see Ludwig von Köchel KV (Egypt), an acronym referring to tombs in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt the IATA... Petroleum coke (often abbreviated pet coke) is a carbonaceous solid derived from oil refinery cracking processes. ... The square meter (also spelled metre, see spelling differences) is the SI derived unit of area, with symbol m². It is defined as the area of a square whose sides measure exactly one metre. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... An inverter is a circuit for converting direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). ... A mercury arc valve is a type of electrical rectifier which converts alternating current into direct current. ... An inverter is a circuit for converting direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). ... now. ... In electricity, current refers to electric current, which is the flow of electric charge. ... A multimeter can be used to measure current The ampere (symbol: A) is the SI base unit of electric current. ... Darker red states are always considered part of the Pacific Northwest. ... A compass rose with Southwest highlighted The terms southwest and south west, can refer to: Southwest, the ordinal direction halfway between south and west, the opposite of northeast The Southwest United States Southwest, Western Australia Southwest Airlines The Southwest Biosphere Reserve in Australia; see List of Biosphere Reserves in Australia... City lights viewed in a motion blurred exposure. ... Path 15 is the name of a major north-south power transmission corridor in California. ... Intermountain is the designation of a bipolar HVDC transmission line between the power station of Intermountain in Utah and the static inverter plant Adelanto in Los Angeles. ...

• In 1972, after the Sylmar earthquake, the static inverter station in Sylmar had to be reconstructed after damage to the largest part.
• In 1982, the power rating of the mercury arc valve rectifiers was raised by various improvements to 1600 megawatts.
• In 1984, the transmission voltage was pushed to 500kV and the transmission power was increased to 2000 megawatts by adding two six-pulse thyristor valve groups to each pole.
• In 1989, a further increase of the transmission power took place by a parallel switched thyristor static inverter in Celilo and Sylmar.
• In 2004, Sylmar East station was upgraded from 1,100 MW to 3,100 MW (rededicated as the Sylmar Converter Station in 2005). The controls and older converters, including the mercury arc valves, were completely replaced by a single pair of 3100MW 12-pulse converters built by ABB. In parallel with this project, the six-pulse mercury arc valves at the Celilo Converter Station were replaced with Siemens light-triggered thyristors (MARP replacement).

The Sylmar earthquake struck at 6:00:55 a. ... Circuit symbol for a thyristor The thyristor is a solid-state semiconductor device with four layers of alternating N and P-type material. ...

See also

• Uno Lamm

August Uno Lamm (May 22, 1904 – June 1, 1989) was a Swedish electrical engineer and inventor, sometimes called The Father of High Voltage Direct Current power transmission. ...

References

1. ^ Sharon Bernstein and Amanda Covarrubias, Times Staff Writers (September 10, 2006). Heat Wave Caught DWP Unprepared. L.A. Times online. Retrieved on 2006-9-11.
2. ^ Prabha Kundur, Powertech Labs Inc. (October 3, 2003). Power System Security in the New Industry Environment: Challenges and Solutions (powerpoint) pp. 17. IEEE. Retrieved on 2006-9-11.
3. ^ The Pacific Intertie Scheme. Bonneville Power Administration (2000-11-3). Retrieved on 2006-9-10.

The Los Angeles Times (also L.A. Times) is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the Western United States. ... Microsoft PowerPoint is a popular presentation program developed for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS computer operating systems. ... The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers or IEEE (pronounced as eye-triple-ee) is an international non-profit, professional organization incorporated in the State of New York, United States. ... The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is a US self-financed federal agency headquartered in Portland, Oregon which transmits and sells wholesale electricity to Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana. ...

External links

More on the ABB website on Pacific HVDC Intertie:

• http://www.abb.com/GLOBAL/GAD/GAD02181.NSF/viewUNID/C1256D71001E0037C1256B8000371E41!OpenDocument
• http://www.abb.com/GLOBAL/GAD/GAD02181.NSF/viewUNID/C1256D71001E0037C1256B81002E886B!OpenDocument
• http://www.transmission.bpa.gov/cigresc14/Compendium/PACIFIC.htm
• http://www.transmission.bpa.gov/cigresc14/Compendium/Pacific%20Pictures.pdf
• aerial photo of Sylmar inverter plant