A major power grid renovation project launched in 2014 was designed to support power reliability and economic development in southeastern New Mexico. With the completion of a new high-voltage transmission line in southern Eddie County and Lea County, the project reached an important point. Milestones.

"In the past 15 years, we have seen amazing economic growth in southeastern New Mexico, especially in Lea and Eddy counties," David Hudson, president of Xcel Energy, Texas, New Mexico, told a press conference Say. "In order to ensure that our customers have the necessary capabilities to drive this growth, we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrading and building new lines and substations in the area. In some places, we have built lines where there is little infrastructure."

When Southwest Power Pool released its high-priority incremental load study in 2014, requiring additional investment of US$557 million in high-voltage infrastructure in Texas and New Mexico, Xcel Energy's plain transmission grid expansion was already in a rapid development stage . SPP is a regional power transmission organization that oversees large power grids and wholesale power markets on behalf of utilities and transmission companies in the central United States, covering parts of 17 states. A focus of SPP research in 2014 was the lack of transmission capacity in Lea and Eddy counties, which led to the development of a new 345-kilowatt line, branching from a Shinkansen originating in Texas.

The two lines identified in the 2014 study were completed in 2018. SPP subsequently issued a notice that the third section will be constructed to close the loop of the two lines identified earlier. This month, the last line between the China Draw substation 22 miles south of Carlsbad and the Roadrunner substation 23 miles northwest of JAL has been completed. Xcel Energy has also built a new Phantom substation at the midpoint of its latest line, which is the bottom of a three-part circuit fed from the Kiowa substation 14 miles northeast of Carlsbad. The previous part is:

• The 40-mile line section between Kiowa substation and Roadrunner substation was originally built as a 230 kV line in 2015 and converted to 345 kV service in 2018.

• The 90-mile 345-kilowatt transmission line from Hobbs area to Kiowa substation to China Draw was completed in 2018.

"These lines and substations are an important part of New Mexico's economic and job creation success, as well as a key part of New Mexico's taxation. We are proud that many employees have achieved such great achievements in a short period of time," Hudson said. "However, without the support and cooperation of our community partners, these partners will not be able to achieve this. They understand the importance of a strong power grid that can power growth in the next few years."

Transmission lines are the backbone of the power grid, transporting electricity from power plants to towns, cities, and industrial areas over long distances. These lines feed into the substation, lower the voltage and deliver the power to the local distribution system and ultimately to the customer.

Since 2011, Xcel Energy has invested more than $3 billion in its transmission grids in New Mexico and Texas. In addition, the company has also invested heavily in the upgrade of the power distribution system, including hundreds of miles of new lines to connect new customers and upgrade existing capacity. To meet the needs of business expansion and community development.