Topeka, Kan., June 5, 2014 - Kansans are a step closer to benefitting
from a more robust electric transmission system with a portion of
the Prairie Wind Transmission line now in service. About 78 miles
of the 108-mile, double circuit 345 kilovolt transmission line is
complete and moving electricity between Wichita and Medicine Lodge.
The line was energized Wednesday. The remainder of the Prairie Wind
project, which will take the line from Medicine Lodge south to the
Kansas/Oklahoma border, is scheduled to be complete by the end of
2014.
The Prairie Wind line is part of a broader project commonly referred
to as the Y-Plan. The Y-Plan will alleviate congestion in the region's
transmission grid.
"Construction of the line has brought good paying jobs to
the communities near the line, giving local economies a boost," said
Kelly Harrison, president of Prairie Wind Transmission and vice president,
transmission of Westar Energy. "This line is like an electricity
super highway that will strengthen the state's transmission system
for decades, providing Kansas communities with more reliable electricity,
enabling development of wind energy and giving Kansans access to
lower cost electricity."
Under this plan, OG&E will continue the Prairie Wind line from
the Kansas/Oklahoma border to Woodward, Okla. ITC Great Plains is
constructing a line from Medicine Lodge to a Clark County, Kan. substation
and then to Spearville, Kan. All of the transmission line projects
under the Y-Plan are scheduled to be complete by the end of this
year.
Through careful project planning and management, the estimated cost
of the Prairie Wind line was lowered last fall to $170 million, about
25 percent less than original estimates of $225 million. Prairie
Wind is a joint venture formed by Westar Energy and Electric Transmission
America - a joint venture of an American Electric Power subsidiary
and MidAmerican Transmission - to build and own new electric transmission
assets in Kansas.
Westar Energy, Inc. (NYSE:WR) is Kansas' largest electric utility.
For more than a century, we have provided Kansans the safe, reliable
electricity needed to power their businesses and homes. Every day
our team of professionals takes on projects to generate and deliver
electricity, protect the environment and provide excellent service
to our nearly 700,000 customers. Westar has 7,200 MW of electric
generation capacity fueled by coal, uranium, natural gas, wind and
landfill gas. We are also a leader in electric transmission in Kansas.
Our innovative customer service programs include mobile-enabled customer
care, a smart meter pilot project and paving the way for electric
vehicle adoption. Our employees live, volunteer and work in the communities
we serve.
For more information about Westar Energy, visit us on the Internet
at http://www.WestarEnergy.com. Westar Energy is on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/yourwestar
and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/WestarEnergy.
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities
in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5.3 million
customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators
of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity
in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation's largest electricity transmission
system, a more than 40,000-mile networkthat includes more 765-kilovolt
extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission
systems combined. AEP's transmission system directly or indirectly
serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern
Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers
38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately
11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system
that covers much of Texas. AEP's utility units operate as AEP Ohio,
AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP
Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky
Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric
Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP's headquarters
are in Columbus, Ohio.
MidAmerican Transmission, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy,
is committed to the development and long-term ownership of transmission
lines throughout the U.S. and Canada. The company has developed approximately
$1.6 billion of transmission projects at 345 kilovolts and higher
and has experience in traditional utility and stand-alone transmission
projects.