Project detail and status: Energy Gateway is an ambitious 1,900 mile (3,058 km) transmission project comprising eight segments and covering parts of Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The project is planned to go on-line between 2010 and 2014. It estimated cost is USD6 billion. 

The eight segments are: Walla Walla (Washington) to McNary (Oregon), 230 kV, projected in-service date of 2010; Populus (Idaho) to Terminal (Utah), part of the Gateway Central, 345 kV, projected in-service date beginning 2010; Mona to Oquirrh in Utah also part of the Gateway Central, 345 kV/500 kV, projected in-service date of 2012; Windstar to Aeolus to Bridger in Wyoming, part of Gateway West, 230 kV / 500 kV, projected in-service date beginning in 2012; Jim Bridger (Wyoming) to Populus to Hemingway (Idaho), also part of Gateway West, projected in-service date beginning in 2012; Aeolus (Wyoming) to Mona (Utah), 500 kV, part of Gateway South; Sigurd to Red Butte (Utah) to Crystal (Nevada), 345 kV, also part of Gateway South; and Hemingway (Idaho) to Captain Jack (Oregon), 500 kV.

 The FERC approved rate incentives for the project in October 2008. The regulator granted incentive rates for seven segments, but denied approval for the segment passing through Washington State. It has asked the company to file again for this segment. 

PacifiCorp has two business units, PacifiCorp Power and Rocky Mountain Power, through which it will build the segments of the Energy Gateway passing through their respective territories. PacifiCorp Power operates in Oregon, Washington, and California; and Rocky Mountain Power operates in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. The project will also strengthen connections between the transmission systems of the two utilities. 

In March 2009, Rocky Mountain Power began construction on the 136 mile (218 km) long 345 kV Populus to Terminal transmission project segment. Populus-to-Terminal consists of two sub-projects: the Populus to Ben Lomond line and the Ben Lomond to Terminal line. The first is a 90 mile (145 km) line from the Populus substation to be built near Downey in Idaho to the existing Ben Lomond substation in Box Elder County in Utah. The second is a 46 mile (74 km) line from the Ben Lomond substation to the Terminal substation near the Salt Lake City airport. 

The company has awarded a USD600 million engineering procurement and construction (EPC) contract to a consortium called Populus-Terminal Transmission Partners which comprises three construction companies - Black & Veatch Construction, Henkels & McCoy and Kiewit Western Company. 

In June 2009, this project ran into a dispute. The town of Willard, which had given preliminary approval to the project in November 2008, has withheld final approval because of concerns related to health and property values. In July 2009, the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decided to continue to discuss and develop potential alternative routes for the Gateway West transmission project in Wyoming and Idaho. According to BLM, alternatives developed between now and September 2009 will be analysed in the draft environmental impact statement (EIS). 

In August 2009, the Idaho Counties decided to support the alternative route proposed for the Gateway West project, on the grounds that the current route would have a highly disruptive effect on private property. The alternative route includes a detour further south along Idaho's border with Utah and Nevada. This is expected to increase the length of the lines by 25 to 50 miles (40.25 to 80.5 km) adding costs of between USD1-2 million per mile. The new route crosses about 42 per cent federal lands, 10 per cent state lands and 48 per cent private lands.  

The BLM and US Forest Service have still not given a right-of-way grant for the project. BLM plans to consider all proposed routes before taking a final decision. The Bureau earlier had tentatively scheduled the draft EIS for release in fall 2009. To help settle the disputes, it has now delayed the release date of the draft EIS from this fall to early 2010.