REGION
Friday, January 22, 2016
PENDLETON
East Oregonian
Page 3A
BPA upgrades Celilo
Converter Station
Facility part of
846-mile connection
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Contributed photo
Bike shop rallying support
for trails near airport
proclivity for cycling, but
rather a way to improve an
unused piece of city land.
“I think it is a classic case
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have long talked about of turning a liability into an
increasing activity at the asset,” he said.
MacKenzie said similar
Eastern Oregon Regional
Airport, although it usually parks have succeeded in
wasn’t done with cycling Eagle, Idaho, Sammamish,
Wash. and Boulder, Colo. He
enthusiasts in mind.
Pendleton bike shop Echo added that the lure of nearby
%LNH%RDUGSRVWHGDÀLHU outdoor recreational oppor-
on its Facebook page rallying tunities could in turn help the
support for a network of city lure more industry to the
bicycle and running trails airport area.
Because of the lack of
west of the airport.
City
Planner
Evan unpaved running trails,
MacKenzie said he has been MacKenzie said the trail
gauging community interest park found another ally in
in recent months, and the Pendleton High School track
owners of Echo Bike & coach Nicole Stewart.
“It’s cross country in the
Board have been some of the
people receptive to the idea. purest sense,” MacKenzie
MacKenzie said estab- said.
MacKenzie said he,
lishing an airport trail
system is less about his own Stewart and Echo Bike &
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Board co-owner Shayne
Myers ran the idea by the
airport commission, whose
members were supportive of
the proposal.
If approved by the city
council, the park wouldn’t
happen overnight.
Although he was the one
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MacKenzie said he hopes
community members like
Myers and Stewart would
lead the charge in getting
the park approved and estab-
lished.
Those in favor of the
project will make a presenta-
tion to Pendleton city council
on Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. and
supporters are encouraged to
attend.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
BRIEFLY
Students safe
after lockdown of
Athena-Weston
Schools
Three Athena-Weston
schools were locked down
for about an hour Thursday
due to an incident with a
parent at Weston-McEwen
High School and Weston
Middle School.
According to Umatilla
County Sheriff Terry
Rowan, Calvin Sumpter,
37, made some suicidal
comments before leaving
work Thursday at the Walla
Walla State Penitentiary.
Sumpter then traveled
to the middle school and
high school, where he was
observed driving erratically,
and tried to request that
his children be pulled from
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refused.
Sumpter then drove
away, and was in
Milton-Freewater when
was detained by local
authorities.
Rowan said Sumpter was
charged with disorderly
conduct and was transported
to St. Anthony Hospital in
Pendleton for a medical
evaluation. He could also
face a reckless driving
charge.
The lockdown affected
Athena Elementary, Weston
Middle School and Weston-
McEwen High School
from about 11:45 a.m. to
12:50 p.m., according to
information release by the
InterMountain Education
Service District.
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Relay for Life
PENDLETON — Bingo
games this weekend will
help raise money for
Pendleton Relay for Life.
The event is Saturday
beginning at 6 p.m. in the
theater room at The Prodigal
Son Brewery & Pub, 230
S.E. Court Ave., Pendleton.
RSVP or pre-sale bingo
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HDFKRUWKUHHIRU
For more information,
call Heather at 541-377-
0350.
Hermiston Elks
set Crab Feed
HERMISTON — Tickets
for the annual Hermiston
Elks Crab Feed must be
reserved by Tuesday.
The event is Saturday,
Jan. 30 with happy hour
from 5-6 p.m. and the crab
feed from 6-8 p.m. at the
lodge, 480 E. Main St.,
+HUPLVWRQ7KHFRVWLV
per person.
For a ticket or more
information, call Jim Voss
at 541-571-5116 or the
lodge at 541-567-6923.
Agape House
serves murder
mystery
HERMISTON — Dave
Hughes is cooking up fun
for another Agape House
murder mystery dinner.
Hughes, Agape House
executive director,
participated in a cruise
workshop teaching him
the Jack Pachuta Murder
Mystery Writing System.
His latest effort, “The
Murder of Handsome Jack,”
will be staged Saturday,
Jan. 30 at 5:30 p.m. at
Agape House, 500 Harper
Road, Hermiston. The cost
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tax-deductible. The price
includes a prime rib dinner
and dessert.
Each table of guests will
serve as an investigative
team for the murder mystery.
After an introduction
and case summary, the
suspects will share their
memories of Jack and any
interactions they had earlier
in the day prior to his death.
During the dinner break,
investigative tables may
purchase additional clue
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During dessert, the crime
lab and autopsy reports will
be read. Audience members
will have an opportunity
to solve the mystery for a
chance to win tickets to an
upcoming murder mystery
presentation.
All money raised from
the event will go to support
the missions of Agape
House and Martha’s House
in helping those in need.
For more information, call
541-567-8774.
Bonneville
Power
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the switch on its new and
improved Celilo Converter
Station near The Dalles.
The project, which
began in 2012 and cost
PLOOLRQ PRGHUQL]HV D
key piece of infrastructure
connecting the Northwest
power market to customers
in Los Angeles.
Originally built in 1970,
the Celilo Converter Station
anchors the north end of
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Direct Current Intertie — a
500-kilovolt, 846-mile trans-
mission line stretching from
Wasco County to a second
converter station managed
by the Los Angeles Depart-
ment of Water and Power.
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is the longest commercial
transmission line of its kind
in the country. In order
to maintain the link, BPA
decided to replace converters
at the Celilo station, which
project manager Erich Orth
said had surpassed their
operational lifespan.
“As it got older, main-
tenance needs got a lot
more cumbersome,” Orth
said. “It made sense for a
wholesale replacement of
the converters.”
Most of the new equip-
ment at Celilo was manu-
factured in Sweden. It was
delivered across the Atlantic
Ocean, through the Panama
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and barged to the Port of The
'DOOHV &RQVWUXFWLRQ ¿QDOO\
got underway last fall, and
Celilo was shut down for
more than three months.
The station came back
online Wednesday evening,
and Orth said they expect
the latest upgrades to last
another 40-50 years.
“It’s going to be able to
perform with a higher degree
of reliability,” he said.
Converter stations work
Photo contributed by Gustav Mortensson/ABB
Two massive transformers are barged from
Vancouver, Wash. to The Dalles as part of the Celilo
Converter Station installation.
“The new equipment not only supports
the western transmission grid with great-
er security, reliability, capacity and lexi-
bility, but will be able to work harder.”
— Richard Shaheen,
BPA’s senior vice president of transmission services
by taking electricity from
alternating current and
changing it to direct current,
which allows the juice to
WUDYHO PRUH HI¿FLHQWO\ RYHU
ORQJ GLVWDQFHV 7KH 3DFL¿F
DC Intertie does this at both
ends in The Dalles and Los
Angeles. The result is the
regions are able to swap
low-cost power during times
of peak demand.
BPA owns and operates
Celilo, as well as 265 miles
of transmission line down to
the Oregon-Nevada border.
The agency is in the process
of updating the line as well,
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fall. The total project cost is
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³7KHVH VLJQL¿FDQW VWHSV
to improve the backbone of
the regional grid will both
strengthen reliability and
increase our capacity to
deliver energy, contributing
to the vitality of the North-
west,” said Richard Shaheen,
BPA’s senior vice president
of transmission services.
Prior to upgrades, the
intertie had capacity for
3,100 megawatts. That’s
enough power for 2-3 million
homes in Los Angeles, or
nearly half of Los Angeles
Department of Water and
Power’s peak capacity.
With the upgrades, the
system is expected to increase
capacity to 3,220 megawatts.
“The new equipment not
only supports the western
transmission grid with
greater security, reliability,
FDSDFLW\ DQG ÀH[LELOLW\ EXW
will be able to work harder,”
Shaheen said.
Mukhles
Bhuiyan,
manager of grid planning
and development for the
Los Angeles Department of
Water and Power, said the
intertie is a great value for
the entire West.
Deputy Secretary of
Energy Elizabeth Sher-
wood-Randall commended
BPA and Southwest utilities
for their cooperation on the
intertie.
“This accomplishment is
an example of the types of
infrastructure advancement
that will help the region
and our nation maintain
the economic vitality in a
changing energy market,”
she said.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
Cultural center
group serves
breakfast
IRRIGON — The
Irrigon Multicultural Arts
Center committee is hosting
a fundraising breakfast.
The meal is Saturday,
Jan. 30 from 7:30-10:30
a.m. at Stokes Landing
Senior Center, 195 N.W.
Opal Place, Irrigon. The
FRVWLVSHUSHUVRQ
The group of volunteers
is raising money in hopes
of preserving Irrigon’s 1921
school building. For more
information, call Peggy at
541-567-3806.
Rachel Dagley
Business
Health
Farm
Life
Rachel Dagley
541/276-2302 • 800/225-2521
Commercial & Farm Agent
The Stratton Agency
Pendleton / Hermiston • stratton-insurance.com
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