The Kansas V-Plan is a high-voltage transmission line connecting eastern and western Kansas. The project improves electric reliability and enables energy developers to tap into the transmission grid, further establishing a competitive energy market in the state.
In cooperation with Sunflower Electric Power Corporation and Mid-Kansas Electric Company, ITC Great Plains designed and constructed the V-Plan high-voltage transmission line. The project, totaling approximately 122 miles, features three new 345kV substations and runs from Spearville south to Clark County, then east past Medicine Lodge.
Work on the Thistle, Clark County and Spearville substations was finished on schedule and the entire V-Plan project was completed and placed in service on December 17, 2014.
WANT TO SEE ALL THE PROJECT DETAILS?
WHY IS THIS LINE NEEDED?
The Southwest Power Pool identified the V-Plan transmission project as needed to bring significant economic and reliability benefits to Kansas and the regional grid. The line provides Kansans and the region with access to more reliable, efficient and affordable electricity. The project alleviates congestion in the grid due to the historical lack of high-voltage transmission lines in western Kansas, helping power flow more efficiently and cost effectively.
WHAT WILL THE LINE LOOK LIKE?
The V-Plan project was built primarily with single tubular steel poles in a double-circuit arrangement (see photo at bottom). Single tubular steel pole structures minimize the impact on land use. The height of the structures vary based on terrain, clearances to the ground, objects under the line and structure spacing, but typically range between 120 and 160 feet. The span lengths between structures are approximately 800 to 1,500 feet, with an average span of 900 feet.
WHO PAID FOR THE PROJECT?
As the project benefits the entire region by improving reliability, increasing efficiency and lowering costs, the cost of the project is recovered from all customers in the Southwest Power Pool region which includes Kansas, Oklahoma and portions of Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Louisiana and Texas.
