Dive Brief:
- In an effort to remove transmission constraints, power line owners expect to spend more than $3.6 billion by 2018 building and upgrading about 3,300 miles of power lines in Texas, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
- The 16 transmission projects are aimed at areas where transmission constraints could hurt reliability or drive up power prices.
- ERCOT is studying options for adding a power line into the Houston area where growing demand and an aging power plant fleet is causing more transmission congestion.
- The grid operator is also studying the possibility of additional power lines to deliver wind generation from the Texas Panhandle to load centers.
Dive Insight:
Last year, Texas electric use grew by 2.1%, a fairly robust level compared with other parts of the U.S. Partly because of load growth, Texas needs more power lines. The new lines will help the grid operate efficiently while supporting reliability.