New Electric Transmission Line Will Travel Through Bourbon County

An electric utility business wants to get feedback on a proposed transmission line that will going through the county.

NextEra Energy Transmission Southwest (NEET Southwest) is  hosting a public meeting in Fort Scott on Jan. 10 from 6-8 p.m. at the Empress Event Center, 7 N. Main.

“A series of informational stations will be staffed by NEET Southwest employees and contractors to answer questions and provide information to attendees,” said  NextEra Senior Communications Strategist Sarah Borchardt.

“The purpose of the meeting is to provide an in-person opportunity for landowners to ask questions about the transmission line project directly, as well as for NEET Southwest to obtain feedback on the proposed project route from landowners,”  Borchardt said.

The Project

“NextEra Energy Transmission Southwest will develop, construct, own, operate and maintain the approximately 94-mile, 345-kilovolt transmission project that will connect the Wolf Creek Substation in Kansas which is owned by Evergy; and the Blackberry Substation in Missouri, owned by Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.,” she said. “The project route traverses Coffey, Anderson, Allen, Bourbon and Crawford counties in Kansas, and Barton and Jasper counties in Missouri. The transmission project is expected to be in-service in Jan. 2025.”

“The line is approximately 94 miles, with approximately 85 miles located across five counties in Kansas,” according to Borchardt.  “The line was identified as being needed by the Southwest Power Pool, which plans the electric transmission system for the state of Kansas and for a larger region that stretches across the middle of the U.S. from Texas up to North Dakota.”

“SPP determined that the line would provide significant economic and reliability benefits to Kansas customers and to SPP customers as a whole, and SPP selected NEET Southwest to build the project after a competitive bid process,” she said.

“The Wolf Creek-Blackberry Project is part of Southwest Power Pool (SPP)’s 2019 Integrated Transmission Plan to address the needs for a more reliable and cost-effective grid,” she said. “SPP is a non-for-profit, regional transmission organization (RTO) mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to ensure safe, reliable and cost-effective transmission infrastructure in the central region of the country. The transmission line will allow power to flow more efficiently to customers in Kansas and Missouri.”

“The project is permitted by the Kansas Corporation Commission at the state level, and not by individual counties,” she said. “NextEra Energy Transmission Southwest’s proposed route is intended to minimize or avoid impacts across a few factors, including landowners, environmentally sensitive areas, other utility and public infrastructure, airports, and tribal lands, among others.”

“ Where possible, portions of NextEra Energy Transmission Southwest’s proposed route will parallel existing rights of way,” she said. “NEET Southwest is securing options for easements from landowners whose land will be crossed by the transmission line. NEET  Southwest will work with landowners on an ongoing basis throughout the construction, clean up phase of the project, and beyond.”

“The Kansas Corporation Commission agreed that the line is needed to serve the public interest in Kansas,” she said. “NEET Southwest is planning to file an application with the KCC to get approval of the specific line route.”

The Kansas Corporation Commissioners agreed the project provides benefits for Kansans, according to its website:

https://kcc.ks.gov/news-8-29-22

Here is the conclusion from the KCC:

“Based on the testimony received, the Commission finds that the Transmission Project will have a beneficial effect on customers by lowering overall energy costs, removing inefficiency, relieving transmission congestion and improving the reliability of the transmission system,” according to the KCC website.

“The line will provide economic benefits to all of Kansas, by allowing power to be produced more efficiently and cost-effectively, which will provide access to more affordable energy for Kansas customers,” according to Borchardt.  “In addition, construction jobs will be created within the communities along the proposed route, and NEET Southwest will make property tax payments to the respective counties going forward.”