Path 46, also called West of Colorado River, Arizona-California West-of-the-River Path (WOR), is a set of fourteen high voltage (500 kV & 230 kV) alternating-current transmission lines that are located in southeast California and Nevada up to the Colorado River.
[6] This power line, maintained by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), begins at the Imperial Valley substation located northwest of Calexico between the United States-Mexico border to the south and Interstate 8 to the north.
[3] Leaving the substation, the line travels parallel at a distance to the south of Interstate 8 as both head east through Imperial Valley.
For the next 10 miles (16 km), the line is squeezed tightly between Interstate 8 and the US-Mexico border until both turn northeast.
As Interstate 8 crosses over the All-American Canal, the line spans over and departs the freeway, continuing to the northeast.
Abruptly, after crossing the Colorado River, the power line turns south and heads into the North Gila substation.
Although the power lines generally parallel Interstate 15 through the Mojave Desert, they do so at a very large distance and are completely out of sight.
As the set of power lines leaves California and enters Nevada, they rises to an elevation of 5,000 feet (1,500 m) before turning to head north-northeast and descending into Eldorado Valley.
After crossing the Interstate 15 for the first time north of the Dale Evens Parkway interchange, the lines turn and head in a more easterly direction to avoid the Barstow area.
The set of four power lines generally parallels Interstate 15 at a distance to the north of the highway for the rest of the path in California.
After the lines pass Clark Mountain to the north, they enter Nevada adjacent to Primm and Interstate 15.
The now scattered power lines then head in a roughly northeast direction across the desert to the Eldorado - Marketplace - McCullough substation complex.
The new 230-mile (370 km) 500 kV line will follow the existing Devers – Palo Verde – 500 kV from Devers substation in the San Gorgonio Pass near Palm Springs in California to the Harquahala Generating Station (near the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station) in Arizona and will cost $680 million to build.
A mistake by an Arizona Public Service employee at the North Gila substation resulted in the loss of a 500 kV line supplying San Diego Gas & Electric's North Gila-Imperial Valley segment on the Southwest Power Link [21] causing one of the largest power outages in history for the Southern California region.
On April 27, 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation released their report detailing the blackout and its causes.
[23] Most of the areas affected were served by San Diego Gas & Electric Company, and left more than 5 million people without power.