Climate and energy

The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is a regional transmission operator (RTO), and it oversees the regional electric grid to which Kansas belongs.

No regional transmission (over a certain size) can be built without SPP’s permission. For Kansas to upgrade its grid enough to get more wind power online, we need SPP to do at least a couple of things: (1) allow new lines, and (2) make sure that the costs of those lines do not fall disproportionately on our low population state.

And we like it this way (for the most part), but it does mean that there are fewer of us around to bear the per capita costs of expensive infrastructure improvements, like transmission lines.

Thus Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Lt. Governor Mark Parkinson are praising SPP to the skies for their decision to pursue a cost allocation method known as postage-stamp recovery. This means that the costs of new big lines will be born throughout the SPP territory, not just in the area of new transmission construction.

Reprinted from the Governor’s news release:

Governor, Lt. Governor applaud the Southwest Power Pool (SPP)
Regional State Committee; urge additional action be taken

An expanded transmission system will help to ensure regional reliability for the future.

Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Lt. Governor Mark Parkinson, in a recent letter to the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) Regional State Committee Chair David King, applauded the Committee for their unanimous decision to treat wind energy on a more comparable basis with conventional generation sources and encouraged further action by year’s end to develop a cost allocation methodology for the regional transmission system.

The new policy will allow for base-funding transmission line upgrades and certain wind energy projects to be selected as Designated Network Resources – a more equitable method of financial aid.

“Supporting policies that will expedite expansion of our transmission infrastructure will benefit Kansas, as well as the entire region,” said Sebelius. “We appreciate the critical role the SPP Regional Committee has played in making a decision that will provide greater assurance of cost recovery for new projects and upgrades.  We encourage speedy implementation of this policy.”

In the letter Sebelius and Parkinson encourage the SPP to view transmission’s benefits broadly in order to promote the needed infrastructure and also express support in moving towards “postage stamp” rates for the regional Extra High Voltage (EVH) transmission system. In addition, they emphasized the importance of simplifying cost allocation methodologies to spur the construction of the super regional transmission system.

Existing resources allow for the opportunity for Kansas to export electricity to regions in need and will provide economic development benefits, similar to what is seen in the agriculture industry.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) provides market oversight to the SPP and other regional electric power markets nationwide.  The SPP operates the transmission grid in Kansas, Oklahoma and parts of New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi and Arkansas.

Reminder of other recent transmission activity in the state - T. Boone Pickens came through here to talk about the need for an interstate highway for transmission.

Also, Westar Energy and ITC Great Plains are competing to build a 765 kV line between Spearville KS and Wichita KS. ITC Great Plains has already worked it out to build another big line (forget the size, sorry!) between Spearville KS and Axtell NE.

— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org