The Northern Intertie was energized on Friday, October 10, 2003. GVEA members began saving money immediately as a result of reduced line loss. Line loss is the energy lost in the process of transmitting power over transmission and distribution lines. The estimated reduction will save Golden Valley and their members $1.9 million annually.
The route map depicts the four sections of the Northern Intertie project. The slide show includes photos of various phases of the construction.
Please view our northern intertie construction slide show.
Route Maps: GIF file (56KB) |
| Download detailed illustration. (PDF, 356KB) |
The 97-mile, 230-kilovolt transmission line between Healy and Fairbanks provides critically needed reliable, low cost energy from GVEA's Healy Power Plant, the Anchorage area and, when operational, the Healy Clean Coal Plant.
To protect the tundra, access to the Tanana Flats is restricted to winter when there is one foot of ground frost and one foot of snow. In addition, crews construct ice roads for equipment access to the work sites.
The Wilson Substation, which is the tie for the Battery Energy Storage System, the Northern Intertie and GVEA's in-town 138 kilovolt (kV) line, was energized in mid-May.
To date, project contractors and subcontractors have employed approximately 195 workers on the various sections of the Northern Intertie.
The project required a total of 540 towers.
Design elements, such as terrain, soils, and cost dictated the type of structures
Structure type
Structure height
| 1987 | Railbelt utilities sought funds from the Railbelt Energy Fund for construction/upgrades of Alaska interties |
| 1993 | Legislature appropriated $90 million for the Healy-Fairbanks and Kenai-Anchorage interties |
| 1994 | Environmental permitting, route selection and design work began |
| 1998 | Bureau of Land Management issued an Environmental Impact Statement and selected the Rex/South Route |
| 1999 | Department of Natural Resources held public hearings and issued a proposed Best Interest Finding |
| 2000 | Clearing began |
| 2001 | Clearing 80% complete, ice road built and tower construction work began |
| 2002 | Tower construction expected to resume by the end of the year |
| 2003 Fall |
Project complete and line energized. |
