Xcel Energy powers up PlainviewÂ’s Kiser Substation

PLAINVIEW, Texas – - PLAINVIEW, Texas – The Kiser Substation, Xcel EnergyÂ’s newest addition to its Plainview-area power delivery network, began operation in early December 2014, providing a strong boost to electrical facilities powering the Plainview economy.

Kiser is the product of a 2010 high-voltage transmission study that identified $106.7 million in improvements for several South Plains counties as part of Xcel EnergyÂ’s Power for the Plains transmission enhancement initiative.

The substation is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 400 and 24th Street in Plainview, and was built for a cost of $6.3 million. It is capable of stepping down power voltage from 115-kilovolts to feed 69-kilovolt lines on the area network.

Two new 115-kilovolt transmission lines feed into Kiser – one line from Kress Substation and another from the Cox Substation east of Plainview. Two other area substations, North Plainview and Kress Rural, have been upgraded to 115-kilovolt service. Working together, the new lines and new and upgraded substations provide additional sources of power for Plainview, and also give Xcel Energy options for rerouting power in the case of an outage on other lines in the network.

“We build our system to last for decades, and we believe in Plainview’s ability to attract industry and create jobs,” said David Hudson, president of Southwestern Public Service Company, an Xcel Energy company. “These new facilities give our economic developers the tools they need to retain and attract business, and they add value to the local tax rolls as well.”