County hears proposal for high-voltage transmission line

Imagine an interstate highway stretching from Wichita west to Dodge City, then heading south-southwest from Medicine Lodge to the Kansas/Oklahoma line.
    Then replace that image with a high-voltage energy transmission line that will become part of a multi-state "super highway," designed to help Kansas access power markets across the Midwest and export renewable energy to other states.
    That's the idea behind Westar Energy's proposal to build such a transmission line in partnership with Electric Transmission America, a joint venture between AEP Transmission Holding Co. and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. AEP Transmission is a subsidiary of American Electric Power.
    Representatives from Westar and American Electric Power outlined their project proposal during a work session Thursday with the Ford County Commission. The commission took no action on the proposal.
    Westar/ETA's proposal calls for building a 230-mile, 765-kilovolt transmission line that would run from the Wichita area west to Dodge, then extend from Medicine Lodge to the Kansas/Oklahoma border. The project is expected to cost between $400 million and $600 million.
    Kansas' wind farms are driving the need for high-voltage lines that will allow the state to access other power markets, said Kelly Harrison, vice president for transmission operations and environmental services for Westar.
    "We need to build some large transmission lines to get this wind energy back east," he said.
    ETA Vice President John Stough said a 765-kilovolt line would achieve that goal and take some of the burden off other, lower-voltage lines. He added that lower-voltage lines would need less maintenance because of the reduced demand.
    "There aren't as many cars going over that road," he said. "Therefore, there aren't as many potholes."
    Westar/ETA is competing with the Topeka-based company ITC Great Plains, which hopes to build two transmission lines: One from Spearville to Comanche County, and one from Comanche County to Medicine Lodge. ITC has teamed up with the Mid-Kansas Electric Co. and Sunflower Electric Power Corp. on its proposal.
    The Kansas Corporation Commission will decide which proposal should move forward and which route the transmission lines will follow.
    Harrison said the new lines will not be built unless the companies can divide the cost among the ratepayers in the SouthwCounty hears proposal for high-voltage transmission line
By Eric Swanson
Dodge City Daily Globe
    Imagine an interstate highway stretching from Wichita west to Dodge City, then heading south-southwest from Medicine Lodge to the Kansas/Oklahoma line.
    Then replace that image with a high-voltage energy transmission line that will become part of a multi-state "super highway," designed to help Kansas access power markets across the Midwest and export renewable energy to other states.
    That's the idea behind Westar Energy's proposal to build such a transmission line in partnership with Electric Transmission America, a joint venture between AEP Transmission Holding Co. and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. AEP Transmission is a subsidiary of American Electric Power.
    Representatives from Westar and American Electric Power outlined their project proposal during a work session Thursday with the Ford County Commission. The commission took no action on the proposal.
    Westar/ETA's proposal calls for building a 230-mile, 765-kilovolt transmission line that would run from the Wichita area west to Dodge, then extend from Medicine Lodge to the Kansas/Oklahoma border. The project is expected to cost between $400 million and $600 million.
    Kansas' wind farms are driving the need for high-voltage lines that will allow the state to access other power markets, said Kelly Harrison, vice president for transmission operations and environmental services for Westar.
    "We need to build some large transmission lines to get this wind energy back east," he said.
    ETA Vice President John Stough said a 765-kilovolt line would achieve that goal and take some of the burden off other, lower-voltage lines. He added that lower-voltage lines would need less maintenance because of the reduced demand.
    "There aren't as many cars going over that road," he said. "Therefore, there aren't as many potholes."
    Westar/ETA is competing with the Topeka-based company ITC Great Plains, which hopes to build two transmission lines: One from Spearville to Comanche County, and one from Comanche County to Medicine Lodge. ITC has teamed up with the Mid-Kansas Electric Co. and Sunflower Electric Power Corp. on its proposal.
    The Kansas Corporation Commission will decide which proposal should move forward and which route the transmission lines will follow.
    Harrison said the new lines will not be built unless the companies can divide the cost among the ratepayers in the Southwest Power Pool, a seven-state organization dedicated to ensuring reliable supplies of power and adequate transmission lines.
    "It needs to be regionally funded," he said. "That's because the whole region will benefit."
    Harrison also said he did not think the KCC would approve either proposal unless it had regional funding.
    At one point, Ford County Commission Chairman Kim Goodnight asked Harrison and Stough if they thought the United States would ever generate 20 percent of its energy from wind.
    Stough said, "I think 10 percent is achievable, but the limiting factor is the lack of access to transmission lines."

Reach Eric Swanson at (620) 408-9917 or e-mail him at eric.swanson@dodgeglobe.com.est Power Pool, a seven-state organization dedicated to ensuring reliable supplies of power and adequate transmission lines.
    "It needs to be regionally funded," he said. "That's because the whole region will benefit."
    Harrison also said he did not think the KCC would approve either proposal unless it had regional funding.
    At one point, Ford County Commission Chairman Kim Goodnight asked Harrison and Stough if they thought the United States would ever generate 20 percent of its energy from wind.
    Stough said, "I think 10 percent is achievable, but the limiting factor is the lack of access to transmission lines."

Reach Eric Swanson at (620) 408-9917 or e-mail him at eric.swanson@dodgeglobe.com.