PSC Sets Hearing on Basin Line, Kummer Ridge Needed for Industry
The line would run from Basin's existing Kummer Ridge substation near Johnsons Corner in McKenzie County to its existing Roundup substation in Dunn County.
The North Dakota Public Service Commission has scheduled a February 16 hearing in Killdeer on the application of Basin Electric Power Cooperative for a 32.5-mile, 345-kilovolt transmission line.
The line would run from Basin's existing Kummer Ridge substation near Johnsons Corner in McKenzie County to its existing Roundup substation in Dunn County.
In its application, Basin said the need for the additional transmission line is due to load growth in the area.
"As electric load continues to develop in the region between Killdeer and Johnsons Corner, and the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, the existing transmission network is unable to maintain loading and voltage criteria during contingency events," the application states. "The project is required to meet reliability standards and projected electrical demands."
The North Dakota Public Service Commission said the line will provide more reliable service to electric cooperative customers, as well as diversify power resources on the larger transmission system.
They cited Basin's application which states that, "the Kummer Ridge substation is currently served by a single radial 345-kV circuit. An outage or loss of this circuit would result in large through-flow on the existing Western Area Power Administration 230-kV system and other facilities, which creates severe voltage constraints on the local electric system. Loss of the circuit would likely result in outages or load shedding."
According to Basin Electric Cooperative, this added infrastructure will help serve the growing load Basin Electric's members are seeing in the region.
“The Roundup-to-Kummer Ridge 345-kV transmission project was deemed necessary for the reliability of the transmission system by Southwest Power Pool, a regional transmission organization. It will enhance the transmission load serving capability in the region and mitigate reliability constraints,” Basin’s website states.
Southwest Power Pool is the regional transmission organization that administers bulk electric transmission system reliability upgrades and generation interconnections. Basin Electric received a Notification to Construct Approved Reliability Network upgrades notice in May 2022 from Southwest Power Pool.
Basin Electric is the designated transmission owner for the upgrade, which includes an approximate 35-mile long transmission line from the existing Roundup 345-kV substation to the existing Kummer Ridge 345-kV substation.
Basin states that the line is planned to be energized in late 2025.
PSC Chairman Randy Christmann said it's a difficult route because it runs through a portion of rugged North Dakota Badlands, but said it's not only needed to maintain reliable service in the oil patch, it is important to the entire Southwest Power Pool.
Randy Christmann was elected to the North Dakota Public Service Commission in November 2012 and re-elected in 2018. Christmas announced he is running again for PSC in this upcoming 2024 election.
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It is this type of situation that will make America grid less stable and less reliable. This situation also show the ins-&-out of the complications of building large projects in a democratic developed country. Good or bad this is the climate investors & policy makers have to deal with.