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Edison utility expansion plan gains state approval

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From Bloomberg News

Southern California Edison Co. on Thursday gained state regulatory approval to start a planned $1.8-billion transmission expansion designed to tap wind power resources.

The California Public Utilities Commission, meeting in San Francisco, approved the transmission project’s first phase, the $92.5-million, 26-mile Antelope-Pardee Transmission Project.

The line is still awaiting approval from the U.S. Forest Service, which may rule in mid-April.

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Southern California Edison plans a series of transmission lines known as the Tehachapi project that will help deliver about 4,500 megawatts of power from planned wind facilities northeast of Los Angeles. The project is part of the utility’s targeted spending of $4 billion over five years on new power lines.

The utilities commission may rule on two additional segments of the Tehachapi project later this month, said Southern California Edison, a unit of Rosemead-based Edison International. The utility plans 11 segments in all.

Southern California Edison in December agreed to buy electricity from a wind power farm planned for the region by Sydney-based Allco Finance Group, which would be the biggest in the U.S.

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One megawatt is enough for about 650 Southern California homes, Edison said.

Edison International’s shares gained 58 cents to $47.58.

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