California ISO Board Chair and CEO Offer Support to ''Frontier Line'' Proposal.

FOLSOM, Calif. -- The Chairperson of the California Independent System Operator (California ISO) Board of Governors Ken Wiseman, and President and CEO Yakout Mansour issued the following statements today in response to the proposal to permit, site and construct the Frontier high-voltage transmission line in the West.

"The Frontier Line will link the growing demand for electricity in California, Nevada and Utah with new sources of power generation in Wyoming," said ISO Board Chair Ken Wiseman. "I applaud Governor Schwarzenegger and the other western governors for their leadership and vision in bringing long-term solutions to diversifying electricity resources, including renewable energy, to the regional grid."

"This is exactly the kind of regional cooperation and forward planning the western-interconnection has been working toward," said ISO CEO Yakout Mansour. "The California ISO stands ready to provide technical and engineering expertise to support the project, and we anticipate working closely with our counterparts around the West as the Frontier Line moves forward."

The California ISO is charged with managing the flow of electricity along the long-distance, high voltage power lines that make up the bulk of California's transmission system. The not-for-profit public-benefit corporation assumed the responsibility in March, 1998, when California opened its energy markets to competition and the state's investor-owned utilities turned their private transmission power lines over to the California ISO to manage. The mission of the California ISO is to safeguard the reliable delivery of electricity, facilitate markets and ensure equal access to a 25,000 circuit mile "electron highway."