SPP approves $7.7 billion plan to expand, upgrade transmission capacity

Little Rock-based regional transmission organization Southwest Power Pool has approved a $7.7 billion plan to expand and upgrade the region’s transmission capacity, according to a Tuesday (Oct. 29) news release.

The organization’s board of directors approved the plan Tuesday as demand rises for reliable electricity throughout its service territory, which includes a part of Arkansas.

According to the release, SPP’s 2024 Integrated Transmission Plan is the single largest portfolio in terms of size and value that SPP has proposed for construction in its 20-year history as a transmission planning coordinator. The approved plan includes 89 transmission upgrades needed to address increasing electricity consumption and changes in the region’s generating fleet. The 89 projects represent 2,333 miles of new transmission and 495 miles of transmission rebuilds.

The release shows the projects are expected to quickly pay for themselves and provide benefits exceeding costs by a rate of at least 8-to-1 while improving grid resilience in the event of extreme weather.

“The high degree of consensus among our stakeholders in support of such a significant infrastructure investment demonstrates the quality of this remarkable planning effort, which is expected to provide significant value for years to come,” said Lanny Nickell, executive vice president and chief operating officer at SPP. “We appreciate our members’ engagement in our study process and their support for this step toward improved resource adequacy and grid resilience.”

Before the board approved the plan, SPP’s Markets and Operations Policy Committee, comprising representatives of every member of the SPP regional transmission organization, voted in support of the plan with 95% approval.

The plan results from 27 months of study and about 150 meetings of 11 working groups and committees comprising representatives of SPP’s member organizations.

“The magnitude of the 2024 ITP is larger than we’ve seen before, but the time is right,” said Casey Cathey, vice president of engineering at SPP. “We’re seeing a large increase in demand for power throughout the nation and our region. Events like winter storms Uri and Elliott have highlighted the need for increased transmission capacity to ensure that all customers continue to receive reliable electricity service in the most challenging times.”

Link here for the plan.