City of Cascade Locks proposes port partnership to upgrade electrical system

The proposed project would upgrade the city’s electrical system and provide additional power for the Port of Cascade Locks’ industrial park. Bennett said the system upgrade would take the city from the 14-megawatt transmission to being able to manage 49 megawatts.

More specifically, the proposal would increase the megawatts at a substation that serves the port’s industrial park. Bennett said that the substation would handle 35 megawatts and serve industrial/commercial customers that require more power; the substation that serves the city and its customers would maintain 14 megawatts.

The City of Cascade Locks purchases its power from the Bonneville Power Administration, which generates electricity through hydroelectric dams and a nuclear reactor. Bennett explained the power is transmitted to the city’s substation where the city then sells it to its customers. Cascade Locks maintains 72 miles of power lines within the city and between Wyeth and Bridal Veil. City users typically use 4 megawatts a month, peaking at 7 megawatts.

According to slides presented at the port meeting, the city said the current system limits growth potential and does not provide redundancy or backups. If something happens at the Pyramid Substation, the city is without power.

Bennett said conversations about improving the city’s electrical infrastructure started in 2019. The Eagle Creek Fire spurred a lot of discussion about upgrading and building in a redundancy.

In 2021, the city secured a Federal Economic Development Administration Grant for $2,407,488. Bennett says the city has until 2026 to complete the upgrade project with the federal grant money.

Initial plans called to upgrade only the city’s system and totaled about $3,009,360. Under that plan, the Port of Cascade Locks committed about $110,000.

But since then, changes came, like inflation and increased construction costs, and the city is exploring a different plan that will provide upgrades to the port’s electrical system as well as its own. The plan includes purchasing an old Bonneville Power Administration substation and renovating it. This would replace the substation that provides power to the port’s industrial park. This new substation would manage 35 megawatts of power.

More importantly, the new substation would provide redundancy. Bennett said if something happened to one substation, then the other substation could step in and provide power.

For the port, an upgraded electrical system would mean increased capacity and improved infrastructure. Currently, some of the business park has electrical, water and sewer but much of the undeveloped area does not.

“Increased capacity and infrastructure into the business park will allow for future development in line with the mission of the port to drive economic development and job creation within Cascade Locks,” said Jeremiah Blue, Port of Cascade Locks General Manager. “Electrical would be a good first step. Water, sewer, roads, land use studies, any step we take towards being build-ready will attract developers.”

Under the new proposal, the project cost is $5,710,519. Bennett told port commissioners this includes contingency funds.

Bennett’s slides show the breakdown of where the funds would come from: $2,407,488 from the Federal Economic Development Administration Grant, a $491,872 Special Public Works Loan, $361,571 from the City of Cascade Locks, and $2,449,588 from the Port of Cascade Locks.

The Port of Cascade Locks has $2.4 million that was given to them by the State of Oregon. The funds are available for infrastructure improvements and development in the industrial park.

Commissioners asked if the city wanted a zero-interest loan, a grant, or a donation. Bennett told him he was open to different options and open to discussion.

Of the five-member board, four port commissioners are new and the project predates their election by three years so there will be a focus group to provide them with information and education.

“My concern is providing enough time and information to the commission in order for them to make the correct decisions on how best to spend those funds,” Blue said. “We will be scheduling a work session in the coming weeks to ensure the commission has both the time and information to make an informed decision.”

Bennett said if the port opted not to help with the infrastructure project, the city would need to revise the plan and scale it down.

In other business, port commissioners discussed the possibility of meeting with city leaders and having joint town hall meetings. The joint meetings could provide a way to understand each agency’s needs, capabilities, and more. Commissioners provided some guidance for staff to help develop a plan.