ITC Great Plains LLC has announced the purchase of two interconnection substations in Kansas as part of a strategic partnership with the Mid-Kansas Electric Co. The first asset is the Elm Creek 230 kV substation located near Concordia, which provides for interconnection of the Cloud County Wind Farm. The second asset is a 138 kV substation located in eastern Barber County near Medicine Lodge, which provides for interconnection of the Flat Ridge Wind Farm.

"By acquiring these assets, ITC Great Plains can continue its vision to build a 21st-century transmission grid in Kansas," said Carl Huslig, ITC Great Plains president. "Kansas needs a robust energy superhighway to reliably deliver energy throughout the region, and this acquisition today positions ITC Great Plains to build transmission projects to meet future energy demands."

Closing the transaction is contingent upon approval from the Kansas Corporation Commission to amend ITC Great Plains' certificate of public convenience and authority and from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to recover the costs of the two substations.

In September of this year, Mid-Kansas, along with the Sunflower Electric Power Corporation (Sunflower), designated ITC Great Plains to build two of the three sections of transmission line comprising the Kansas V-Plan, the largest electric infrastructure project proposed in Kansas in nearly 25 years. Once constructed the transmission line will support movement of economic and market energy, improve efficient energy transfers and increase reliability throughout Kansas and the Southwest Power Pool region. The third section of the V-Plan line was offered to Westar Energy (Westar) as part of a collaborative venture among multiple utilities.