ETT files application to build transmission line from Barney Davis substation to Naval Base substation

News provided by

May 19, 2014, 01:04 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, May 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Electric Transmission Texas, LLC (ETT) has filed an application with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) to construct a proposed single-circuit 138-kV transmission line in Nueces County from ETT's Barney Davis substation to AEP Texas Central Company's (TCC) Naval Base substation.

ETT is a joint venture between subsidiaries of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and Berkshire Hathaway Energy.

The project is necessary to maintain transmission service reliability to Flour Bluff, portions of Corpus Christi, and the North Padre-Mustang Island area. The project was endorsed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Jan. 24, 2013. The ERCOT endorsement also requires TCC to install a new 138/69 kV autotransformer at the Naval Base substation.

"This project provides support to the Corpus Christi area transmission network and reduces the possibility of loss of electric load during certain network conditions, such as the scheduled maintenance of transmission facilities," said ETT President Calvin Crowder.

At Naval Base substation, TCC also will construct a new 69-kV Gas Insulated Substation (GIS) to improve the service reliability of the substation equipment and install a new 138-kV/69 kV autotransformer and 138-kV termination facilities for the new line termination. ETT will construct the new 138-kV termination facilities at the Barney Davis substation.

ETT anticipates construction of the project to begin in April 2016, and the new transmission line will be energized by December 2016. Based on preliminary routing, the transmission project could total from 6.1 to 16.1 miles. The final route length will depend on which route is approved by the PUCT. The approximate cost of the entire project is expected to range between $33.1 million and $50 million.

Official notifications were mailed May 16 to all potentially affected landowners, along with maps of the proposed routes. A similar notice will be published in area newspapers. In addition, public input was gathered at jointly hosted public open houses held in October 2013. More information can be found at www.ETTexas.com.

About Electric Transmission Texas, LLC
ETT is a joint venture between subsidiaries of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and Berkshire Hathaway Energy, formerly MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company. The joint venture acquires, constructs, owns and operates transmission facilities within ERCOT, primarily in and around the AEP Texas Central Company and AEP Texas North Company service territories. More information about ETT can be found at www.ettexas.com.

AEP, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5.3 million customers 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 more than 40,000-mile network that includes 2,100 miles of 765-kV transmission lines, more than all other U.S. transmission systems combined.

About Berkshire Hathaway Energy
Berkshire Hathaway Energy owns a portfolio of locally managed businesses that share a vision for the energy future, make sustainable investments to achieve that vision, and had $70 billion of assets as of Dec. 31, 2013. These businesses deliver safe, reliable service each day to more than 8.4 million customers and end users around the world and consistently rank high among energy companies in customer satisfaction. Berkshire Hathaway Energy is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Learn more and see a complete list of our businesses at www.berkshirehathawayenergyco.com.

MidAmerican Transmission
MidAmerican Transmission, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, is committed to the development and long-term ownership of transmission lines throughout the U.S. and Canada. The company has developed approximately $1.6 billion of transmission projects at 345 kilovolts and higher and has experience in traditional utility and stand-alone transmission projects.

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, growth or contraction within and changes in market demand and demographic patterns in AEP's service territory; 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, customer growth and the impact of retail competition, particularly in Ohio; weather conditions, including storms and drought conditions, 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 increases in fuel and other energy costs through regulated or competitive electric rates; AEP's ability to build or acquire generating capacity and transmission lines and 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 oversight of nuclear generation, energy commodity trading and new or heightened 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, cost recovery and/or profitability of AEP's generation plants and related assets; evolving public perception of the risks associated with fuels used before, during and after the generation of electricity, including nuclear fuel; a reduction in the federal statutory tax rate that could result in an accelerated return of deferred federal income taxes to customers; 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; 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, and other energy-related commodities; 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; AEP's ability to recover through rates or market prices any remaining unrecovered investment in generating units that may be retired before the end of their previously projected useful lives; volatility and changes in markets for capacity and electricity, coal, and other energy-related commodities, particularly changes in the price of natural gas; changes in utility regulation and the allocation of costs within regional transmission organizations, including PJM and SPP; the transition to market generation in Ohio, including the implementation of ESPs; AEP's ability to successfully and profitably manage our Ohio generation assets in a startup, nonregulated merchant business; 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 AEP debt; the impact of volatility in the capital markets on the value of the investments held by AEP's pension, other postretirement benefit plans, captive insurance entity and nuclear decommissioning trust and the impact on future funding requirements; accounting pronouncements periodically issued by accounting standard-setting bodies; and other risks and unforeseen events, including wars, the effects of terrorism (including increased security costs), embargoes, cyber security threats and other catastrophic events.

SOURCE American Electric Power