The cause has been determined and has been reported as an act of malicious mischief. The Bonneville Power Administration's transmission grid covers 300,000 square miles of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and western Montana. Its intertie system, including the line that was damaged, enables Northwest utilities to buy and sell power up and down the West Coast. Other connections link it to the Missouri Valley grid. The BPA made its command center in Vancouver, Wash., off-limits to all but a few energy operation specialists Friday because of security concerns.
Operators there monitor substations and transmission lines in eight states.
The BPA fired up extra reserve generators Friday to counter any transmission failures and had already reduced power shipments on the intertie line to make sure there was plenty of power for the Pacific Northwest. The Daily Camera. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution, or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the express written consent of The Daily Camera is expressly prohibited. Users of this site are subject to our User Agreement , you may also read our Privacy Policy .