Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) and Norris Public Power District hosted a open house November 10 to provide the public with information and to collect input on NPPD's plans to build a 115-kV transmission line in the Harbine and Steele City area.

The new 115-kV line, and the accompanying substation upgrades, will strengthen the electric system in the area and allow Norris to meet the area's growing need for electric energy. Specifically, a Canadian company has announced plans to build a crude oil pipeline (the Keystone Pipeline) through Nebraska. To move crude oil through this pipeline, pumps are needed at regular intervals, and several of these pumps will be located in a pumping station near Steele City. The pumps are run by electric motors which require large amounts of energy.

To meet ultimate electric load requirements of the pumps at Steele City, Norris needs a 115-kV energy source in that vicinity. As Norris' wholesale electric energy provider, NPPD intends to provide Norris with that energy by building the aforementioned 115-kV transmission line.

The new line will run generally north and south, approximately 18 mi, from a substation west of Harbine to a substation east of Steele City and then to the Kansas border. Extending the line to the Nebraska/Kansas border - to be later connected to a Kansas utility's line - will strengthen the regional transmission grid, which will benefit both states by enhancing system reliability.

The exact length of the line will be determined once a final route has been selected. NPPD and Norris are in the early stages of selecting a route for this new transmission line, and the open house on November 10 is an important part of the line-selection process.

Communication and public involvement will be key elements in the successful completion of the Harbine to Steele City transmission line project, said Project Manager Bernard Anderson of NPPD.