National Grid to manage US Midwest Alliance Transco
- NEW YORK - Britain's National Grid Group Plc signed an agreement to manage the Alliance Cos. transmission company (Transco) in the U.S. Midwest, the companies said in a statement on Friday.
As part of the agreement, National Grid will invest $1 billion in start-up and transmission acquisition costs in the Transco.
The companies said they filed the agreement Thursday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The agreement requires two key FERC approvals.
"We believe that National Grid's commitment to invest $1 billion and FERC's five conditional approvals demonstrate the viability of the Alliance Transco," said Stan Szwed, chairman of the Alliance Management Committee and vice president responsible for transmission for Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp.
The Alliance Transco will cover a 182,000 square mile service territory in 11 states from Missouri to Virginia, serving about 35 million customers.
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Like many other utilities, TEP typically doesn’t install its long-range, high-voltage transmission lines and distribution equipment underground because of higher costs that would be passed on to ratepayers, TEP spokesman Joe Barrios said.
But the company will sometimes bury lower-voltage lines and equipment where it is cost-effective or needed for safety, or if customers or developers are willing to pay the higher installation costs
Underground installations generally include additional engineering…
