CEP Conversations: Kimberly Gencur-Svaty on transmission lines
February 16, 2008
Kimberly Gencur-Svaty has worked in the energy and transmission industries for several years, most recently for International Transmission Company (ITC). CEP interviewed her for our Conversations series because she is very familiar with the transmission picture in Kansas. (If her last name sounds familiar, it might be because she is also the wife of Representative Josh Svaty, Ellsworth.)
ITC currently has a proposal before the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) to build two transmission lines originating out of Spearville, Kansas – one leading north toward Nebraska, and the other heading east.
Maril Hazlett, CEP: Nice view! (Kimberly’s 5th floor office window in downtown Topeka looks directly at the Capitol.)
Kimberly Gencur-Svaty: Thank you! (There is also a little bit of chat about how MH’s father is from Sterling and her grandfather was once the registrar of Sterling College, and discussion of how many of KGS’s in-laws attended Sterling College.)
MH: OK. Let’s start with the basics. Transmission is a key ingredient in getting electricity to markets and eventually to consumers. Please briefly describe how the system works.
KGS: There are basically three portions to the electricity system. First, you’ve got your power plant or generating source. That power plant could be a wind farm, it could be coal, nuclear, natural gas – any generation type.
That generated power then feeds through of series of high voltage transmission lines. It goes to a substation where the voltage is stepped down so it can be fed through the distribution system. The distribution system is basically the shorter or smaller poles that you see basically everywhere. (MH: For additional information on how electricity works, see the CEP website.)
MH: The ones your car runs into when you are in a wreck.
KGS: Exactly. Those could be telephone poles too.
MH: The distribution system usually travels along roadways, or existing right of ways, correct?
KGS: Exactly. That is called the last mile into the home. In some older neighborhoods, you will see the wires actually going into the home. In areas built in the last thirty to thirty-five years, you see the boxes in the middle of someone’s backyard, and then the line runs underground to the home.
Distribution is much lower voltages. When we are talking transmission, we mean the high voltage lines that usually run cross-country.
MH: What is the average voltage of a transmission line?
KGS: Well, that is completely dependent upon where your region is. Interestingly enough, for example, in Kansas we have a lot of 115 kV transmission and 230 kV transmission.
MH: 115 kV – is that low? Do lower voltages typically date from earlier eras?
KGS: Well, when you are looking at the grid itself, we do have a lot of older infrastructure in Kansas. But we are no different in that respect than any other portion of the country.
MH: The electric grid is patchy all over the country, is my understanding.
KGS: Exactly. And …that is kind of a tough question because you have to be diplomatic about it. Basically you do have some vintage -
MH: Vintage. I like that word.
KGS: – vintage material out there. Utilities are in the process of re-energizing those lines, or upgrading them from maybe 69 kV to 115 kV or from 115kV to 230kV. In Kansas, we have primarily 69 kV, 115kV, 230kV, and some 345 kV. The older portions of the grid are often in the more rural areas of the state where you just don’t have the tremendous demand.
