Xcel Energy powers up PlainviewÂ’s Kiser Substation

Kiser Substation strengthens Plainview's grid as an Xcel Energy node, stepping 115-kV to 69-kV, fed by new transmission lines, boosting reliability, redundancy, and economic development under the Power for the Plains initiative.

PLAINVIEW, Texas – The Kiser Substation, Xcel Energy’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.

The Kiser Substation, Xcel Energy’s newest addition to its Plainview-area power delivery network, much like Edison expansion plans underway in California, 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, like work by Vermont grid planners elsewhere in the region, identified $106.7 million in improvements for several South Plains counties as part of Xcel Energy’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, similar to new distribution circuit work in Palm Springs that enhances reliability.

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, much like the Victorville solar station expands supply in California, 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, as a 360kW order clearly underscores ongoing momentum, and they add value to the local tax rolls as well.”

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