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Environmentalist concerns for plant and animal communities during transmission construction and maintenance, unknown effects of high voltages (AC and DC) on the environment, and the visual impact Df EHV and I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 76 California-Nevada Area will most probably be subject to limitations resulting from excessive loop flow. In the Rocky Mountain Power Area, problems encountered in recelvlng necessary permits and authorization to construct the Rifle-San Juan 345 kV line has delayed the anticipated in-service date from the fall of 1983 to, at the earliest, the fall of 1984. As a result of the delays, loads in Southwestern Colorado will continue to stress existing transmission facilities and reliability will continue to be jeopardized as loads grow. In addition, generation curtailments will be required under some system conditions, and separation of Colorado from the Arizona-New Mexico Area will continue for certain major system disturbances possibly resulting in loss of load and generation in the Rocky Mountain Power Area. Construction of the Rifle-San Juan line will mitigate these problems as it will significantly strengthen the existing weak transmission links between the Rocky Mountain Power Area and the Arizona-New Mexico Power Area, thereby allowing increased reserve sharing, economy exchanges, emergency assistance, and reliability. In the California-Nevada Area, transmission will be the limiting factor in transferring additional coal and hydro energy into the region to displace oil-fired energy, as well as assist in meeting load requirements. To optimize the utilization of the resources which are expected to be available from other areas of WSCC, the California-Nevada Area will likely be expanding its interconnections with other areas. Additional interconnections with the Arizona-New Mexico Area, including a new ~500 kV DC and several 500 kV AC lines, are contemplated. Between California and the Pacific Northwest, increasing the capability of both the AC and DC Pacific Interties is planned for the mid and late 1980's. Transmission expansion decisions to increase interarea transfers as opposed to the traditional need to accommodate specific resource additions results in the need to justify the trade-off of stockholder money for ratepayer benefits. This decision is particularly difficult in light of today's financial difficulties unless it can be shown that a capital outlay for transmission facilities will offset an equal or greater capital outlay for other facilities. Since transmission additions are relatively inexpensive compared to generation additions, constructing transmission between load centers and available surplus resources is often the preferred economic choice. Just as resource expansion is facing financial, regulatory and environmental challenges, transmission development is being impacted by similar issues. Regulatory agencies are anticipated to become more involved with transmission development projects in which transmission is proposed for the export of local area resources to distant consumers. Transmission corridor siting limitations posed by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service will restrict the availability of preferred transmission expansion options. All of these regulatory issues will undoubtedly result in higher transmission costs.