2. Background

Walnut Creek Energy, LLC (WCE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Edison Mission Energy, seeks to develop a 500 megawatt simple-cycle power plant (the Project) with an expected on-line date of January 2011. The Project is designed as a peaking facility to meet electric generation load in Southern California during periods of high demand, which generally occur during daytime hours and during the summer. The facility will be capable of being dispatched throughout the year but is expected to operate primarily during the utility defined on-peak and mid-peak periods. The proposed Tie-Line will serve California consumers by delivering power produced by the Project to the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) controlled grid. The site for the Project is a 11.48-acre parcel located in the City of Industry.

WCE sought permission for the Project from the California Energy Commission (CEC). The CEC conducted an environmental review of the Project pursuant to California Public Resources Code § 21000 et seq., and of the proposed Tie-Line pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). With regard to the Tie-Line, the CEC's approval was premised on compliance with the following conditions:

1) The project owner shall construct the proposed transmission lines according to the requirements of California Public Utility Commission's General Order (GO) 95, GO-52, GO-131-D, Title 8, and Group 2. High Voltage Electrical Safety Orders, Sections 2700 through 2974 of the California Code of Regulations, and SCE's EMF-reduction guidelines.

2) The project owner shall hire a qualified consultant to measure the strengths of the electric and magnetic fields from the line before and after it is energized.

Pending compliance with these and various other conditions, on
February 27, 2008, the CEC granted WCE permission to begin work on the project. WCE then asked SCE to construct the Tie-Line between the Project's generation station switchyard and SCE's existing Walnut Substation. WCE agreed to bear the total costs of the Tie-Line including the construction, operation, and maintenance charges.

On April 7, 2009, SCE filed an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) to construct the 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line that would connect the Walnut Creek Energy Park to the CAISO controlled grid at SCE's Walnut substation. By letter dated April 20, 2009, SWAT-Fame, Inc. complained about the Project, specifically noting its proximity to the Project, the large number of power lines in the area already, and alleging a high incidence of cancer among its employee base.¹

¹ The SWAT-Fame Inc. letter appears to take issue with the construction of the facility, which runs along the entire side of the SWAT-Fame building less than 100 feet away, rather than the specific Tie-Line proposed which at its closest point is approximately 600 feet from one corner of the SWAT-Fame building. This letter is not part of the formal record but has been placed in the correspondence file for this proceeding.