Texas utility files request to build transmission line

ETT Laredo-Edinburg Transmission Line will link substations near Laredo and north of Edinburg, enhancing ERCOT grid reliability in Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley with steel single-pole structures across six counties and new substations.

Electric Transmission Texas, LLC ETT has filed a request with the Public Utility Commission of Texas PUCT to build a 345-kilovolt kV transmission line from the Laredo area into the Lower Rio Grande Valley. ETT envisions completion of the project in 2016.

ETT’s routing options for the project range from approximately 138 miles to 188 miles in length, connecting an existing ETT substation near Laredo with an existing substation north of Edinburg. The estimated cost of the routing options, amid an ongoing value of new lines, range from approximately $265 million to $365 million. Costs associated with expanding the existing substations and adding two new substations along the line, compared with West Texas wind lines elsewhere, are expected to total approximately $75 million.

The new transmission line from Laredo to the Edinburg area will cross portions of Webb, Zapata, Jim Hogg, Brooks, Starr and Hidalgo counties. ETT plans to construct the transmission line on steel single-pole structures, similar to its West Texas line milestones, an approach overwhelmingly supported by landowners attending open houses held earlier this year.

In October 2011, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas ERCOT board determined that the project is critical for the reliability of the ERCOT system and, specifically, the Lower Rio Grande Valley, a conclusion underscored by utilities commission approval in related proceedings.

ETT is a joint venture between subsidiaries of American Electric Power and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, two of the largest utilities in the United States. The joint venture acquires, constructs, owns and operates transmission facilities within ERCOT, where utilities team up on major builds, primarily in and around the AEP Texas Central Company and AEP Texas North Company service territories.

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