Imperial Valley press., 1927-11-25
POWER COMPANY
COMPLETES new
Line TO VALLEY
Route Via Rincon Now
Ready For Service To
South End. go,

gun august %, the southern
Slerras Power Comapny's new 67
mile, $4,000 volt Transmission line
between San Bernardino and the I'm.
perial Valley by way OF Rincon, San
Diego county, was completed and
ready to serve November 90, We'd
nesday night.
This gives the Power Company
two main transmission lines from
San Bernardino to FL Centre. The
1lrst by way Of Banning, Coachella,
inland and Brawley, was built in
I9l4. In 1924, line was extended
from FL Centre to Rincon, just north
OF Escondido, by which the tide.
water steam plants of the San Diego
Consolidated Gas and Electric Com.
pany were interconnected for q
standby emergency service with the
Southern Sierras system. The line
opened Wednesday interconnects
San Bernardino with Rincon, and
completes the loop between San
Bernardino and Ell Centre by closing
the gap between San Bernardino
and Rincon.
Taking San Benardino as the
starting point, the old line follows
approximately the line of the South
ern Pacific railroad, by INLAND to
Ell Centre.
The new line runs from San Ber-
nardino through Riverside, Perris,
Murrietta, Temecula, Pala to Rim
con, where the main switching sta.
ton and tie-in with the San Diego
steam power is located, and where
the 1924 line through Fl Portal and
the San Felipe Wash runs southeast
to FL Centre, tying in with the
northern main transmission at the
tompany's recently completed term.
inal station there.
Construction Difficult
The new construction has kept a
picked crew of so men, under Paul
Greenleaf, chief of construction. on
the jump since late in August. 1t
is of wood pole, steel wishbone
type; the poles running from so to
10 feet in height, with suspended in
sulators and heavy copper wire.
From emecula south across the
flanks of the Palomar range rough,
broken country necessitated much
road building. Ninety per cent of
the holes were dug with Greenleaf's
truck mounted post-hole auger and
power boom and winch at a great
saving of time and cost. The poles
were hauled and placed by contract
mostly by caterpillar tractor. The
job entailed the establishment of
several camps, a main ware house,
and local storerooms at Cotton, Riv-
erside. Box Springs Grade, Menifee
and Temecula successively as the
work advanced.
The entire line was built without
n single serious accident.
The cost was about $4,000 a mile
for the 67 miles, and with switching
and terminal facilities will total
close to $350,00O.
The new line provides second
direct connection between the north
ern hydro generating plants of the
Company and San Bernardino Steam
Plant and Imperial Valley, giving
four sources of current to the south
ern part of the company's territory
the hydro plants and steam plant
of the Southern Sierras, the steam
plants of the San Diego company,
and the interconnected California
system.
The San Diego interconnection
greatly improved the valley service,
and the line completed Wednesday
will still further cut down duration
of ordinary interruptions since it
will no longer be necessary to wait
while the San Diego steam plants
are preparing to carry the load. Now
it will be picked up over the new
interconnection with San Bernar
dino. 1t is expected that duration
of interruptions will be reduced to
a maximum of four minutes.
According to President A. B. West
of the Southern Sierras, the COM
panv has invested in round figures
about $2,500.000 during the 1924-2S
period for improvements in Imper-
ial Valley service. These include
the San Diego interconnection, the
FL Centre snbstation, pro rata of
San Bernardino substation improve
ments chargeable to the valley, the
San Bernardino-R Rincon interconnec-
tion. new direct telephone lines for
operating purposes. extensions and
fixed chargee on investment made
hv the San Diego Company on be-
half of the Southern Sierras in con
nection with the FL Centro Rincon
tie-in completed in 1924.
TN CCe nl