View Safety Poster

NPPD Board Approves 80-mile Transmission Line Construction Contract; Work To Begin This Fall

At its regularly scheduled monthly meeting July 11, the Nebraska Public Power District Board of Directors approved the construction contract for a new 80-mile transmission line. The contract was awarded to L.E. Myers Co. of Marshalltown, Iowa, for slightly less than $35 million. Construction is to begin next month with completion expected in June 2009.

The new transmission line is part of NPPD’s Electric Transmission Reliability (ETR) Project for East-Central Nebraska. The ETR Project will help ensure the continued reliable delivery of electric energy to Nebraska homes, businesses and industry. The project will also help meet the growing use of energy by NPPD’s wholesale and retail customers.  

The construction contract calls for building 80 miles of high-voltage transmission line, with termination points north of Columbus and west of Lincoln. Construction along the line route will be done in segments, with the first segment beginning near Rising City and proceeding north to the Platte River. Right-of-way easement acquisition for the new line has been ongoing in Platte and Butler counties. Easement acquisition in these two counties is nearing 85 percent complete. Project right-of-way agents are set to begin acquiring easements in Seward County soon, with Lancaster County to follow.

Most of the new line will feature steel, single-pole structures, with the exception being where the line will cross the Platte River near Columbus, where lattice steel structures will be utilized.

NPPD’s Board also awarded a contract for expansion of two associated substations for $1.7 million to Brink Constructors, Inc., of Rapid City, S.D.

Watch video of 170-ton transformer move from downtown Columbus railyards to the new Shell Creek Substation north of Columbus! Play Video >>

Project Overview:

In late 2006, Nebraska Public Power District announced intentions to begin a high-voltage transmission line project in the east-central portion of the state. The project is needed to meet growing demand for electric energy in the state and to ensure the continued reliability of the electric transmission and distribution grid.

NPPD’s Electric Transmission Reliability Project for East-Central Nebraska, as the transmission project is called, is slated to be completed in two phases. Phase I calls for substation work and conversion of a current 230 kV line between Norfolk and Columbus. Phase II will entail substation work and construction of a new line from Columbus to northwest Lincoln.

A transmission study completed by NPPD in May 2006 indicated the need for the ETR-Project. Record demand for electric power in the summers of 2005 and 2006 reinforced the need to upgrade the transmission grid in east-central Nebraska.

The final route for Phase II has been chosen. NPPD systematically sought public input to assist in determining where the new line would go. NPPD employees and the District’s representatives traveled the area to gather information to use, among other factors, to make assessments about the suitability of various corridors for the line.

After general corridors of the line had been identified, NPPD met with interested residents along those corridors. Those meetings helped evaluate potential challenges in possible routes for locating the line before a final route selection was made. A round of public hearings, as required by Nebraska statute, were conducted on November 13-15, 2007. A proposed final route was presented to the public at these meetings in Columbus, Schuyler, David City, Seward and Lincoln.

Phase II is scheduled for completion in June 2009.

The Nebraska Power Review Board Approves ETR Project 4-0:

The Nebraska Power Review Board conducted an evidentiary hearing Friday, September 28, on NPPD's application to construct the Electric Transmission Reliability Project for East-Central Nebraska. Vice President of Customer Services and Delivery Ed Wagner and Regulatory, Planning and Contracts Manager Paul Malone testified in support of the application, which was unopposed. The Power Review Board voted 4-0 to approve the application.

"Approval of the ETR-Project by the Nebraska Power Review Board is a significant milestone," Wagner said. "We have been fairly confident that the need for this important transmission asset has been evident from the project's beginning. Now, with the PRB's unanimous vote, we will proceed to determine the final line route and complete this important reliability project." Public hearings on the proposed final line route are scheduled for November.