Great Plains, AEP seek power line projects across U.S.

Dive Brief:

Great Plains Energy and American Electric Power are bidding on power line projects around the U.S. through their Transource joint venture, Great Plains officials said during an earnings conference call.
Kansas City Power & Light and GMO Missouri – Great Plains subsidiaries – saw “weather-normalized” residential sales jump 3.1% last year, the strongest increase in five years. Total sales increased 1.4% last year and the company expects annual sales to increase 0.5% to 1% through 2016.
The utilities plan to spend $3.2 billion on infrastructure through 2018.

Dive Insight:

Transource, 86.5% owned by AEP and 13.5% owned by Great Plains, is moving ahead with two 345-kV projects in Missouri and Nebraska, but the company is now looking farther afield for projects.

“Near-term, Transource is focused on submitting bids to construct transmission projects in several domestic [regional transmission organizations], including PJM, [the Midcontinent Independent System Operator], and [the Southwest Power Pool],” Terry Bassham, Great Plains chairman, president and CEO, said.