The new transmission hub will serve as western end of B2H line

BOARDMAN — Bonneville Power Administration and Umatilla Electric Cooperative celebrated a new high-voltage energy transmission substation Tuesday, April 15, in Boardman.

Representatives of the project’s partners said Longhorn Substation, just east of the city on Lewis and Clark Drive, will support economic development in the region because it increases the area’s transmission capacity. Around 50 people attended the event in front of the shiny new transmission substation with electricity buzzing in the background.

Robert Echenrode, general manager and CEO of Umatilla Electric Cooperative, said the substation serves as “a foundation for future growth” across the region.

“It’s a project that connects rural areas to new opportunities,” he said. “Longhorn strengthens our ability to grow, not just in megawatts, but in jobs, local investments and innovation.”

Higher power, lower emissions

Essentially, substations such as Longhorn help to move power around the region, akin to a highway on/off ramp, Echenrode said.

“This is a large off ramp,” he said. “Umatilla Electric will take this off ramp and build the county roads and the main arteries to get into the neighborhoods and industrial parks.”

The substation connects to a 500 kilovolt transmission line as well as numerous 230 kilovolt lines. It has the “capacity to connect 2,500 megawatts of new generating resources,” as well, according to Bonneville Power Administration CEO John Hairston.

“The demand for reliable, affordable power and transmission service is increasing in communities across the region, just as it is here in Umatilla and Morrow counties,” Hairston said. “Meeting this demand is going to require large-scale grid expansion.”

Echenrode said despite the scale of the project and record use of UEC’s resources more broadly,  the company has lowered its carbon emissions by 65% in one year. He said substations such as Longhorn allow new projects to develop, including ones focused on renewable and carbon free power.

Morrow and Umatilla counties are seeing increases in power generation through wind and solar projects.

Jeff Wenholz, a Morrow County commissioner and board member of Umatilla Electric, said tens of thousands of acres in the county are dedicated to solar energy.

“They need transmission and substations in order to get the renewable generation that’s being generated in this county out,” he said. “Without the ability to get the power out, it doesn’t allow the projects to go forward, and the projects that come in, they mean tax dollars to Morrow County.”

Making a connection

Longhorn Substation is not the only transmission substation developed in Boardman. Hairston said theBPA hopes to construct another 230 kilovolt and 500 kilovolt substation west of Boardman called Six Mile Canyon. The project would be completed in late 2027 or early 2028.

But Longhorn itself will not only expand the power system’s capacity in Morrow and Umatilla counties; it will move electricity regionally, too.

The station will serve as the western anchor of the 300-mile-long Boardman to Hemingway transmission line that PacifiCorp and Idaho Power Co. are building across Eastern Oregon. Bonneville Power has an “agreement to purchase capacity on the line” to serve new customers in southern Idaho, Hairston said.

“For us, that’s going to be an important piece of infrastructure to be able to provide reliable, low cost power to our customers across the entire region,” he said.

Hairston added Bonneville Power’s B2H plan of service is projected to save the company more than $700 million over 30 years. He said it’s a “more efficient and reliable long-term plan of service” for the customers, as well.

The state’s Energy Facility Siting Council approved the B2H transmission line, which is a contentious topic across Northeastern Oregon counties, but the Longhorn Station’s completion marks a milestone in the project.