Kansas Transmission Line Project Nixed

A proposed ultra high-voltage power line in southern Kansas is in jeopardy after being left off a regional planning body’s list of priorities.

A strategic planning committee of the Southwest Power Pool recently left the Kansas line off its list of leading projects in the region. The pool oversees the energy transmission grid for six states. It may endorse its new priorities during a board meeting Tuesday in Tulsa, Okla.

The proposed $700 million line between Spearville and the Oklahoma border is seen as key to developing the state’s wind energy industry, as it would carry electricity generated from wind farms to customers across the U.S.

Gov. Mark Parkinson, who supports the project, has asked the pool to reconsider.