trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/fyh6oh0wjejfwebblyikda2 content esgSubNav
In This List

US agency, transmission developer Southline agree on rights to Ariz./NM line

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Research

US utility commissioners: Who they are and how they impact regulation

Blog

Q&A: Datacenters: Energy Hogs or Sustainability Helpers?


US agency, transmission developer Southline agree on rights to Ariz./NM line

The Western Area Power Administration and Southline Transmission said they have agreed to develop a transmission project across southern New Mexico and Arizona.

The Southline Transmission Project involves construction of a new 345-kV line and upgrades to existing transmission infrastructure with the aim of improving reliability, relieving congestion and allowing for the delivery of electricity from renewable resources. The project will run about 360 miles and have a capacity of 1,000 MW.

The Western Area Power Administration, or WAPA, and Southline on Feb. 5 said a participation agreement they signed on Jan. 31 outlines a commercial framework that allocates transmission rights on each segment of the project.

When the line is energized, WAPA's share of transmission capacity will be incorporated under the Parker-Davis Project. That project includes the Davis and Parker dams on the Colorado River overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. It also includes a WAPA-operated transmission system that includes 32 substations and more than 1,500 miles of transmission lines.

Southline's transmission capacity was offered to potential transmission customers in an open solicitation process in 2016. Indications of interest submitted into the open solicitation process exceeded the project's capacity, and there is sufficient interest to move the project ahead, Southline spokesman Paul Schulze said.

Advanced negotiations with potential anchor tenants are ongoing, Schulze said.

The new portion of the line is to run about 240 miles between the Afton substation near Las Cruces, N.M., and the Apache substation, south of Wilcox, Ariz. About 120 miles of existing single-circuit 115-kV line owned by WAPA running between the Apache substation and the Saguaro substation northwest of Tucson, Ariz., are to be upgraded to a double-circuit 230-kV line.

Southline and WAPA said several associated agreements will be negotiated over the coming months, including construction, operations and maintenance, ownership and lease agreements.

Construction is expected to start in late 2018, with transmission operations phased into service beginning in 2020, the developers said. Southline is owned by private developer Hunt Power LP.