Midwest Electric applied for infrastructure funding through the United States Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) Research division organized a consortium of electric cooperatives to be able to apply for over $99 million in GRIP funding which will support more than $145 million worth of projects at 38 rural, not-for-profit electric cooperatives across the western United States.
NRECA Research’s Wildfire Assessment and Resilience for Networks (WARN) consortium included Midwest’s request for $3 million in funding to rebuild our high-voltage transmission line from our Grant substation to our Red Willow Creek substation. The project aims to strengthen Midwest’s transmission grid using proven methods and advanced technologies, with the aim of reducing wildfires and enhancing wildfire and weather resilience.
Most of our transmission line is nearly 60 years old and is beginning to show its age. While we conduct regular inspections and maintenance on all our lines, this line has reached the point where a complete rebuild is prudent. In addition to its age and declining condition, rebuilding this line will have several benefits to reliability and wildfire mitigation. First, the existing line was built with long spans which means each structure (set of poles) supports a significant length of conductor wire. We will rebuild the line with shorter spans providing more strength and better support for the line in windy and icy conditions and also reducing the chance of the lines slapping together which can cause sparks leading to wildfires. The line will be rebuilt with T2 (wrapped) conductor which minimizes ice loading and lessens wind loading issues. Finally, the line will be rebuilt with single-pole structures meaning each structure will have to support less weight of conductor wire. The rebuilt line will be in the same right-of-way as the existing line, although structures will also be closer to the road or section lines and not extend as far onto the property on which they are built.
We will be rebuilding our transmission line from our Paxton substation towards Wallace this winter. We had originally thought it would likely take 20+ years to be able to rebuild our entire transmission loop. But the availability of and successful application for these funds will significantly increase how quickly we will be able to replace another section as well as be significant cost savings to Midwest and our members.
Jayson Bishop
*Midwest Electric is an equal opportunity provider and employer.*