Plans Underway for $39M Nebraska Power Line Project

Nebraska Public Power District is planning a $39 million upgrade to substations and power lines from Scottsbluff to Stegall.  In order to make sure the lines are strung in the right places, NPPD will ask the public to participate in open meetings starting next year.

The NPPD's Board of Directors approved a resolution at its November meeting, authorizing NPPD management to begin initial planning and engineering work to construct approximately 23 miles of new 115-kilovolt transmission lines in western Nebraska. The new line will enhance electric reliability in the Panhandle and is scheduled to be in service in 2017.

According to NPPD spokesman Mark Becker, the project focuses on regional reliability, ensuring the area has consistent power.  A lack of available transmission lines is one of the most-often cited factors for the lack of wind energy development in the area.  However, these proposed transmission lines are unlikely to help with wind generation as wind farms are built on 345-kilovolt lines and these handle 115 kilovolts.

The line will be constructed between a new substation near Stegall and NPPD's existing Scottsbluff substation. The approximate $39 million transmission project also includes upgrades to existing facilities.

NPPD will begin its public involvement process for the Stegall transmission project in January 2014. The public involvement process provides an opportunity for landowners to learn more about the project and gather details about their property as part of the routing process.

As there is no line route drawn yet, Becker wanted to highlight the importance of landowners east of Scottsbluff coming to the meetings. NPPD will consider factors such as the paths of pivots, if the property is grazing land or includes wetlands, and what the farmer or rancher plans to do with the property.

"That way we can get the public to come in and give us the input we need," Becker said.  "We feel that the public involvement process becomes the backbone of this process."

source : wireworld