By JAY F. MARKS
The Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY —
Transmission lines carrying electricity generated by wind are now open from Woodward to Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma Gas and Electric announced Tuesday it has turned on its new 121-mile Windspeed transmission line that connects wind farms in northwestern Oklahoma to OG&E’s power grid.
Company officials called the line a vital pathway for wind power produced in northwest Oklahoma. It connects wind farms in that area to OG&Es power grid.
“This is an important milestone in the ongoing development of renewable energy in our state,” said Pete Delaney, OGE Energy Corp. chairman, president and CEO. “The new line supports a more robust build-out of Oklahomas wind potential; producing revenue for landowners, creating jobs, increasing tax revenues in northwestern Oklahoma, and delivering renewable energy to Oklahoma consumers.”
Delaney said the $200 million project, which was approved by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in 2008, was completed on time and on budget.
OG&E customers paid for construction of the new power line with a monthly charge averaging about $1.40 a month, company spokesman Brian Alford said.
The transmission line runs from northwest Oklahoma City to Woodward. It connects OG&Es new extra-high-voltage substation near Woodward with the companys existing transmission grid.
The new Woodward substation also will serve as a renewable energy transmission hub as more wind farms are developed in the area.
The Southwest Power Pool, a regional organization that manages transmission in Oklahoma, Kansas and parts of Texas, New Mexico, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana, could add two more lines: one connecting Woodward to the Panhandle and another north to Kansas.
OG&E has about 777,000 customers in its 30,000-square-mile service area in Oklahoma and western Arkansas.
