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Oregon Digital
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1966 In 1966, a new 34,500-volt San Juan cable was laid to meet increased load demand. Each foot of the operation was monitored and recorded, even underwater, by use of a parabolic sound condenser.
Image caption: Fidalgo terminal at Decatur... |
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The cable ship, "Inagua Shipper," brought the new cable from New York via the Panama Canal.
Image details: DECATUR ISLAND ANACORTES FIDALGO SUBSTATION LOPEZ SOUND LOPEZ ISLAND ROSARIO STRAIT FIDALGO ISLAND |
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Image caption: Mercury arc valve at Celilo Converter Station, northern end of the d-c Interie.
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A visionary concept since the 1940's, the Pacific Northwest—Pacific Southwest Intertie became a reality in 1968 when the a-c lines were energized. When the d-c line was energized in 1970, the total project capacity exceeded 3.4 million...
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Each phase of the Intertie—a cooperative effort between two agencies of the Department of the Interior, four private utilities, and the City of Los Angeles—was carefully planned from the initial surveying to the conductor stringing.
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A hydraulic hole digger does in minutes what once took hours for men. This and other machinery unknown to early BPA transmission engineers enabled the project to be completed in a scant 5 years.
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Assembled on the ground and hoisted into the air by giant cranes, the guyed tower is popular because of its fast assembly.
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231,000 tons of steel, more than three times the amount used to build the Golden Gate Bridge, were used in construction of the Interie.
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Three-story cranes replace gin poles in more modern tower erection. In inaccessible areas where fragile terrain is traversed, helicopters assist construction.
Image caption: Snubbing the conductor. |
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"It's not the easiest way to make a living, hanging 180 feet up in the air, but when you sit back at night and watch those lights come on, it makes it all worthwhile"--BPA employee.
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Image caption: Porcelain insulators being prepared for testing or installation at High Voltage Laboratory at J. D. Ross Complex, Vancouver, Washington.
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Image caption: At the flip of a switch, power flow along the Intertie can be directed where most needed.
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Image caption: Precision placement of explosives was a must when construction of a third powerhouse at Grand Coulee Dam called for removing part of the original structure.
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Image caption: Computer drawing of perspective view of the new tower.
Image details: HIGH VOLTAGE FOR THE FUTURE |
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1970 Image caption: Replacement of 230-kV lines with 500-kV double circuit lines on the Coulee-Raver line.
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Impressive as is the equipment of the BPA, it is people who make the system work. Behind each insulator, conductor, and tower in the system lie the though and labor of the men and women who built it.
Image caption: Using long wooden poles,... |
