Edison clears hurdle for Tehachapi line project

Southern California Edison won approval from the state’s power grid operator for an electricity transmission line in the Tehachapi region.

The California Independent System Operator’s approval is the first major step for the $1.8-billion project, which would provide a crucial connection between the existing electrical grid and several wind-power facilities proposed for the Tehachapi area.

Edison said it would submit a formal application for the project to the state Public Utilities Commission this summer, and the company hopes regulators will rule on it in early 2009.

-- Elizabeth Douglass