The Texas Public Utility Commission last week took a big step towards supplying clean power to big cities in the central part of the state, approving a $5 billion plan to build new transmission lines from wind energy projects in the west.
Nine companies will divide the project, which includes roughly 2,900 miles of new power lines. The major portions will built by Dallas-based Oncor, American Electric Power’s (NYSE: AEP) joint venture Electric Transmission Texas and Sharyland Utilities. Others involved include Lower Colorado River Authority, FPL Group (NYSE: FPL), Spanish-based Isolux Corsan and LS Power Group.
Rapid addition of wind power in the western part of the state led to costly power congestion in 2008. The Commission determined that new transmission was needed for at least 18,500 megawatts of wind power in the next few years.
Oncor said it will immediately begin engineering work and land purchases. The company will be responsible for building lines in north and central Texas at a cost of about $1.3 billion.
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