Evergy has already encountered opposition to a 133-mile energy transmission line it wants to build across south-central Kansas and into northeast Oklahoma.
During a hearing held by the Kansas Corporation Commission this week, some residents near the city of Sedan said they were against the line. The KCC held two public hearings this week. One was held in Sedan on Wednesday.
A second hearing was held a day later in Winfield on Evergy’s project to install the 345-kilovolt transmission line through western Sedgwick, Sumner, Cowley and Chautauqua Counties. It would run between the Buffalo Flats Substation near Garden Plain to the Delaware Substation near Delaware, Oklahoma.
Some residents said the area already has too many power poles, but the project is supported by the Kansas Corporation Commission and the Southwest Power Pool, the grid that includes Kansas and Oklahoma among its 14 member states. They contend there is an immediate need for the distribution line in light of recent severe storms that left the two states with historic blackouts and fuel costs.
“One of the recommendations was the region, the transmission should be evaluated under extreme circumstances, like a winter storm, winter weather event,” Justin Grady, the director of utilities for the KCC, said, according to KSNW TV News.
The KCC will accept written comments until Jan. 23.
To watch Thursday’s meeting, click here.
Click here for KSNW TV