AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Electric
Reliability Council of Texas
(ERCOT) Board of Directors today endorsed and deemed "critical to
reliability" a 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission project proposed by
Electric Transmission Texas LLC (ETT) from the Laredo area into the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
ETT is a joint venture between subsidiaries of American
Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.
ETT's proposed transmission project includes construction of
approximately 163 miles of 345-kV transmission lines that will
connect ETT's Lobo Substation near Laredo with substations north of Edinburg. The cost of the project is
estimated at approximately $300
million. The ERCOT board recommendation also endorsed
the need for AEP Texas to reconductor two existing 345-kv lines and
upgrade substation facilities at an additional anticipated cost of
$225 million.
"The endorsement from the ERCOT board clearly establishes the
need for this transmission project and paves the way for a
Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) application from the
Public Utility Commission of Texas
(PUCT)," said ETT President Calvin
Crowder. "Currently, there are only two 345-kV
transmission lines serving the Valley. Both of the existing
lines import power from the Corpus
Christi area and run parallel to the Gulf Coast, which means
both are vulnerable to hurricanes and other severe weather.
The import capacity of these lines is limited, and the
ability to schedule maintenance often can be a problem."
The need for transmission improvements was reinforced during the
February rolling outages throughout the state. On the morning
of Feb. 2, ERCOT called for firm load
to be shed across the grid. The AEP Texas share of the load
shed was 380 MW. After the resumption of normal activities,
the Valley continued to face the possibility of outages due to
severe weather. On the evening of Feb.
3, AEP Texas shed 300 MW of load in the Valley as a result
of the loss of a generator and transmission import limitations.
Construction of the line also should further improve
transmission reliability in the Laredo area.
ETT anticipates filing a CCN application from the PUCT in 2012
with completion of the project envisioned for 2016. ETT will
develop potential routes and conduct environmental studies prior to
scheduling open houses to discuss the project with landowners.
ETT acquires, constructs, owns and operates transmission
facilities within the ERCOT, primarily in and around the AEP Texas
Central Company and AEP Texas North Company service
territories.
AEP, headquartered in Columbus,
Ohio, is one of the largest electric utilities in the U.S.,
delivering electricity to more than 5 million consumers in 11
states. AEP (www.aep.com) has extensive experience building
extra-high-voltage 765-kV transmission lines and owns the nation's
largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile
network that includes 2,100 miles of 765-kV transmission lines,
more than all other U.S. transmission systems combined.
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company (www.midamerican.com), based
in Des Moines, Iowa, is a global
provider of energy services to more than 6.9 million customers
worldwide. MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company subsidiaries,
PacifiCorp and MidAmerican Energy Company, own and operate more
than 18,000 miles of electric transmission lines.
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This report made by American Electric Power and its Registrant
Subsidiaries contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although AEP
and each of its Registrant Subsidiaries believe that their
expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, any such
statements may be influenced by factors that could cause actual
outcomes and results to be materially different from those
projected. Among the factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are:
the economic climate and growth in, or contraction within, AEP's
service territory and changes in market demand and demographic
patterns; inflationary or deflationary interest rate trends;
volatility in the financial markets, particularly developments
affecting the availability of capital on reasonable terms and
developments impairing AEP's ability to finance new capital
projects and refinance existing debt at attractive rates; the
availability and cost of funds to finance working capital and
capital needs, particularly during periods when the time lag
between incurring costs and recovery is long and the costs are
material; electric load and customer growth; weather conditions,
including storms, and AEP's ability to recover significant storm
restoration costs through applicable rate mechanisms; available
sources and costs of, and transportation for, fuels and the
creditworthiness and performance of fuel suppliers and
transporters; availability of necessary generating capacity and the
performance of AEP's generating plants; AEP's ability to recover
Indiana Michigan Power's Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant Unit 1
restoration costs through warranty, insurance and the regulatory
process; AEP's ability to recover regulatory assets and stranded
costs in connection with deregulation; AEP's ability to recover
increases in fuel and other energy costs through regulated or
competitive electric rates; AEP's ability to build or acquire
generating capacity, including the Turk Plant, and transmission
line facilities (including the ability to obtain any necessary
regulatory approvals and permits) when needed at acceptable prices
and terms and to recover those costs (including the costs of
projects that are cancelled) through applicable rate cases or
competitive rates; new legislation, litigation and government
regulation, including requirements for reduced emissions of sulfur,
nitrogen, mercury, carbon, soot or particulate matter and other
substances or additional regulation of fly ash and similar
combustion products that could impact the continued operation and
cost recovery of AEP's plants; timing and resolution of pending and
future rate cases, negotiations and other regulatory decisions
(including rate or other recovery of new investments in generation,
distribution and transmission service and environmental
compliance); resolution of litigation (including AEP's dispute with
Bank of America); AEP's ability to constrain operation and
maintenance costs; AEP's ability to develop and execute a strategy
based on a view regarding prices of electricity, natural gas and
other energy-related commodities; changes in the creditworthiness
of the counterparties with whom AEP has contractual arrangements,
including participants in the energy trading market; actions of
rating agencies, including changes in the ratings of debt;
volatility and changes in markets for electricity, natural gas,
coal, nuclear fuel and other energy-related commodities; changes in
utility regulation, including the implementation of electric
security plans and related regulation in Ohio and the allocation of costs within
regional transmission organizations, including PJM and SPP;
accounting pronouncements periodically issued by accounting
standard-setting bodies; the impact of volatility in the capital
markets on the value of the investments held by AEP's pension,
other postretirement benefit plans and nuclear decommissioning
trust and the impact on future funding requirements; prices and
demand for power that AEP generates and sells at wholesale; changes
in technology, particularly with respect to new, developing or
alternative sources of generation; and other risks and unforeseen
events, including wars, the effects of terrorism (including
increased security costs), embargoes and other catastrophic
events.
SOURCE American Electric Power