Xcel Energy to Invest in $400 Million Transmission Line Project
1 Apr 2017
Xcel Energy Invests $400 Million in Eastern New Mexico Transmission Line
Carlsbad, NM - April 2017 - Xcel Energy is set to begin construction of the 240-mile, $400 million TUCO-China Draw 345-kilovolt transmission line project. This will be the single largest investment in an electrical infrastructure project in Eastern New Mexico.
The project, which will connect the China Draw Substation south of Carlsbad, with the TUCO Substation north of Abernathy, Texas, will deliver a more reliable and abundant electricity supply to customers in New Mexico and Texas. It will ensure power can move freely into one of the nation's leading oil and gas producing regions and an area rich in agricultural and mining resources as well as renewable energy prospects.
Xcel Energy participates in an initiative called Power for the Plains. As part of this effort, Xcel has invested in over 800 miles of new transmission lines and more than ten substations since 2011 in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. More than 700 additional miles of transmission line is planned to be constructed through 2021. The transmission expansion represents more than $3 billion in investment in the area.