The Bear Valley Electric System

Bear Valley Electric Service (BVES) is a subdivision of the Golden State Water Company (GSWC). BVES provides retail electric service to the Big Bear Lake resort area in the San Bernardino Mountains. The BVES service territory is comprised primarily of residential customers. BVES provides service to approximately 21,500 full-time and part-time residents, and approximately 1,400 commercial, industrial, or public-authority customers. BVES also provides service to two ski resorts in its territory.

The BVES system consists of an 8.4 megawatt (MW) generation plant, 205 miles of overhead and 54 miles of underground conductors, and 13 substations. BVES' generation plant, the Bear Valley Power Plant, began commercial operation in 2005 and is located at BVES' main office in Big Bear. The Bear Valley Power Plant consists of seven 1.2 MW internal combustion engines fueled by natural gas.