TOPEKA, Kan., June 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ITC Great Plains, LLC today received siting approval from the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) for Phase II of the KETA high-voltage electric transmission line project (also known as the Spearville-Axtell line). The second phase of the KETA project involves the construction of an approximately 85-mile, 345,000 volt (345 kV) line through north-central Kansas to the Kansas-Nebraska border.
The KCC siting approval for Phase II is a critical step toward completion of the KETA project, a 225-mile transmission line from Spearville to Axtell, Neb. The Phase II route passes through Ellis, Rooks, Osborne and Smith counties. The route for Phase I, an 89-mile segment from Spearville to Hays, received KCC approval on July 13, 2009.
"ITC Great Plains appreciates the Commission's approval of the route for the second phase of this critical regional transmission project," said Carl Huslig, president, ITC Great Plains. "The KETA project will help deliver affordable power to Kansans while bolstering the reliability of our regional transmission grid and assisting the further development of wind energy in the region in an environmentally friendly way."
The KCC decision supports an ongoing effort by ITC Great Plains to address the state's energy challenges: the lack of transmission capacity between western and eastern Kansas and the absence of an energy grid to support wind development. This decision provides additional backing for investment in a new high voltage infrastructure within the SPP region founded upon open access to the grid and collaboration with key energy stakeholders.
The Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) will build the approximately 51-mile final segment of the KETA project from the Kansas-Nebraska border to Axtell, Neb. ITC has coordinated with NPPD on a border crossing point located in Smith County.
About the KETA (Spearville-Axtell) Project
The KETA Project, also known as the Spearville-Axtell line, is a 345,000 volt (345kV) transmission line conceived and sponsored by the Kansas Electric Transmission Authority (KETA). It will run approximately 225 miles from Spearville, Kan., to Axtell, Neb. The line is being built in three phases: Spearville to the Post Rock substation (formerly Knoll) near Hays; Post Rock to the Kansas-Nebraska border; and from the Kansas-Nebraska border to Axtell. ITC Great Plains will build the first two segments, from Spearville to the Nebraska border. The Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) is responsible for building the third segment, from the Kansas-Nebraska border to Axtell, where it will interconnect with a substation owned and operated by NPPD. For more information on the KETA project, go to http://www.itctransco.com/projects/current/itcgreatplains.html.
About ITC Great Plains
ITC Great Plains, LLC was formed in July 2006 as a subsidiary of ITC Grid Development, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC Holdings Corp. , the nation's only fully independent electric transmission company. Headquartered in Topeka, Kansas, ITC Great Plains is a transmission-only utility which seeks to build a more robust electric transmission system providing access to reliable, non-discriminatory, competitive and low-cost energy throughout the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) region. ITC Great Plains holds transmission-only utility status in Kansas and Oklahoma with the authority to construct, own, operate, and maintain a regulated, high-voltage transmission system. For more information, please visit http://www.itctransco.com/.
About ITC Holdings Corp.
ITC Holdings Corp. invests in the electricity transmission grid to improve electric reliability, improve access to markets, and lower the overall cost of delivered energy. ITC is the largest independent electricity transmission company in the country. Through its subsidiaries, International Transmission Company d/b/a ITCTransmission, Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC (METC) and ITC Midwest LLC, ITC operates contiguous, regulated, high-voltage transmission systems in Michigan's Lower Peninsula and portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri, serving a combined peak load in excess of 25,000 megawatts. ITC is also focused on new areas where significant transmission system improvements are needed through subsidiaries ITC Grid Development, LLC, ITC Great Plains, LLC and ITC Panhandle Transmission, LLC.
For more information, please visit: http://www.itc-holdings.com/. (itc-ITC)
ITC Holdings Corp.
CONTACT: Investor/Analyst Contact: Pat Wenzel, +1-248-946-3570,
pwenzel@itc-holdings.com; Media Contact: Joe Kirik, +1-248-946-3478,
jkirik@itctransco.com
Web Site: http://www.itc-holdings.com/
