OGE Moves up Construction of Wind Farm Transmission Line

The construction of a $190 million transmission line to connect wind farms in northwest Oklahoma is being moved up by Oklahoma Gas and Electric. Instead of waiting another three years, the utility plans to begin construction early in 2017 on the 126-mile line from Woodward to the Cimarron substation located northwest of Oklahoma City. It expects the Windspeed II line to be in operation by mid-2018.

The 345-kilovolt line will parallel the company’s Windspeed line that was built in 2010.

OGE executives explained that when they build the original Windspeed lint, they felt there was a need for an additional line and bought 200 feet of right of way.

“This project isbeing completed at the direction of the Southwest Power Pool to alleviate the congestion issues in northwestern Oklahoma,” stated Sean Trauschke, OGE Energy Corp. CEO during a recent conference call.

The announcement of the new construction date came as OGE alao announced fourth quarter earnings of $29.4 million or 15 cents per share. That’s down from the $58.4 million or 29 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The utility’s quarterly operating revenue was down 15 percent to $447 million, compared to the $526 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Year to date, OGE Energy had net income of $271 million or $1.36 per diluted share, which was down from the $396 million or $1.98 per diluted share in 2014. The 2015 operating revenue was about $2.2 billion, a decline from the $2.45 billion in 2014.