ROYAL CITY — Residents of the Royal City area are being invited to two public hearings to give their opinions on the best route for an electrical transmission line to the new Red Rock substation. The hearings are sponsored by Grant County PUD and are scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m., Jan. 29 and Feb. 5, at the Port of Royal Slope office, 4975 Road 13.5 SW.

The Red Rock substation will be southeast of Royal City along Highway 26, built to address additional demand for electricity in the Royal City area. But the substation will need power to it before it can distribute power to customers, and the new 115-kilovolt line is designed to do that.

The goal is to build the line by 2022. Utility district officials said there’s a rough estimate of costs, but the project may require some land purchases and easements, and the cost of those is still to be determined.

The Royal City area has an existing 115-kilovolt line running from the Frenchman Hills to Royal substations. Utility district officials identified 84 possible routes, but after further study those were narrowed down to three.

Detailed maps of the three options will be on display at the public meetings. The study recommended starting at Frenchman Hills because it would be easier to maintain, improve reliability and have less impact on the surrounding area.

All three options follow the Frenchman Hills line for about a mile. One option would route the line through the area of Road F Southwest, a second through the area of Road E Southwest. The third would run the line through the area of Road F Southwest before connecting back to Road D Southwest.

The proposed transmission lines that follow roads D and E Southwest would be about 7.6 miles, while the line along Road D Southwest would be 9.5 miles.

Utility district administrators will make a recommendation on the best route to PUD commissioners, who will make the final selection. That vote is expected in March. Utility district employees want to hear from Royal City residents first, and consider their comments, before coming up with a recommendation, according to a PUD press release.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.