THE WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION (Western; Lakewood, Colorado, U.S.) published a solicitation in the November 15 Federal Register requesting statements of interest in transmission capacity rights for a new electric transmission development between Colorado and Wyoming. This action follows the September announcement that Western had joined the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority (WIA; Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.) and Trans-Elect (Reston, Virginia, U.S.) in an effort to jointly develop transmission on the TOT 3 corridor connecting Colorado and Wyoming. Response to this solicitation will enable a formal appraisal of interest in this transmission upgrade so that its public service benefits can be determined.

“New transmission would allow for Wyoming's low-cost coal and world-class wind resources to help meet growing electricity needs of Colorado consumers,” said Steve Waddington, WIA's executive director. Trans-Elect's Managing Partner Bob Mitchell said, following the September announcement of the combined effort to expand TOT 3, “the informal expressions of interest by wind and coal developers have totaled over 3000 MW of potential capacity, when 1000 MW would be enough to justify a new line.”

The state of Wyoming, led by Gov. Dave Freudenthal, several utilities, wind and coal energy producers and business leaders have supported the public-private partnership model for this transmission development project. The TOT 3 upgrade was a key recommendation of the 2004 Rocky Mountain Area Transmission Study, a consensus planning study.