[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 4992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01489]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 15271-000]


Premium Energy Holdings, LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit 
Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To 
Intervene, and Competing Applications

    On March 31, 2022, Premium Energy Holdings, LLC filed an 
application for a preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) of the 
Federal Power Act (FPA), proposing to study the feasibility of the 
Twitchell Pumped Storage Hydro Project to be located approximately 6 
miles northeast of Santa Maria, California in the limits between San 
Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. The sole purpose of a 
preliminary permit, if issued, is to grant the permit holder priority 
to file a license application during the permit term. A preliminary 
permit does not authorize the permit holder to perform any land-
disturbing activities or otherwise enter upon lands or waters owned by 
others without the owners' express permission.
    The proposed project would consist of the following: (1) a new 
upper reservoir located either, on the western side of the Sierra Madre 
Mountains in Santa Barbara County, California, with a maximum elevation 
of 1,788 feet average mean sea level, with a surface area of 72 acres 
and a storage capacity of 7,150 acre-feet (alternative 1), or a new 
reservoir 0.5 mile west of Twitchell Lake with a maximum elevation of 
1,296 feet average mean sea level, with a surface area of 83 acres and 
a storage capacity of 11,400 acre-feet (alternative 2); (2) an existing 
lower reservoir (Twitchell Reservoir), with an elevation of 592 feet 
average mean sea level, a surface area of approximately 400 acres and a 
storage capacity of 197,756 acre-feet; (3) either a 0.32-mile-long 
headrace tunnel, 0.07-mile-long vertical shaft, 2.20-mile-long 
horizontal tunnel, 0.03-mile-long penstock, and 0.46-mile-long tailrace 
tunnel (alternative A), or a 0.16-mile-long headrace tunnel, 0.04-mile-
long vertical shaft, 1.10-mile-long horizontal tunnel, 0.02-mile-long 
penstock, and 0.23-mile long tailrace tunnel (alternative B) connecting 
the reservoirs to the powerhouse, with a maximum head of 704 or 1,196 
feet depending on the selected upper reservoir; (4) either a new 9-
mile-long 230-kilovolt (kV) line and 2.5 miles of SCE's existing right 
of way that will interconnect the project with the existing PG&E 
transmission system at the Mesa Substation (alternative 1), or a 230-kV 
line that would be installed that would interconnect at a future 
substation that would be a part of the Central California Power Connect 
project (alternative 2); (5) a new powerhouse that would house 4 new 
pump-turbines rated at 150 megawatts each; (6) a new substation 
installed on the northern or southern side of the Twitchell Reservoir 
depending on the upper reservoir alternatives, close to the powerhouse; 
and (7) appurtenant facilities. The estimated annual power generation 
at the Twitchell Pumped Storage Project would be 1,200,000 megawatt-
hours.
    Applicant Contact: Victor M. Rojas, Managing Director, Premium 
Energy Holdings, LLC. 355 South Lemon Ave., Suite A, Walnut, California 
91789; phone: (909) 595-5314; [email protected].
    FERC Contact: Benjamin Mann; email: [email protected]; phone: 
(202) 502-8127.
    Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, competing 
applications (without notices of intent), or notices of intent to file 
competing applications: 60 days from the issuance of this notice. 
Competing applications and notices of intent must meet the requirements 
of 18 CFR 4.36.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments, motions to intervene, notices of intent, and competing 
applications using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/eFiling.aspx. Commenters can submit brief comments 
up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the eComment 
system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx. You must 
include your name and contact information at the end of your comments. 
For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support. In lieu of 
electronic filing, you may submit a paper copy. Submissions sent via 
the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, 
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier 
must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. 
The first page of any filing should include docket number P-15271.
    More information about this project, including a copy of the 
application, can be viewed or printed on the ``eLibrary'' link of 
Commission's website at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp. 
Enter the docket number (P-15271) in the docket number field to access 
the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: January 19, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-01489 Filed 1-25-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P