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October 28, 2009
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MIDWEST ENERGY RECEIVES SMART GRID AWARD
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Midwest Energy has received notification that a grant application for the replacement of electro-mechanical relays at Knoll Substation, located north of Hays, has been selected for award negotiations by the Department of Energy (DOE). This new project will entail the installation of a new control house and new SEL relays at the substation. The new construction represents a significant improvement to the protection systems at the substation.
With the pending construction of the Spearville-Knoll-Axtel transmission line (known as the KETA line) and the accompanying new 230 kV substation, the upgrade of Knoll substation is very timely.
According to Ray Harold, Vice President of Engineering for Midwest Energy, “Obviously, this represents a lot of work for our people. However, the opportunity to make this upgrade with as much as 50% Federal funding is of significant long term benefit to our customers. In addition to the reliability benefits that we foresee for Midwest Energy customers, we believe that this improvement will also help facilitate the development of renewable energy resources in the area over the next several years.”
The grant represents approximately $712,000 and will require an equal amount from Midwest Energy. The grant is made available through the use of smart grid stimulus funds set aside by the Obama Administration to upgrade the electric grid throughout the country.
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