POWER Engineers works to bring more reliable power to southern Kansas

Construction of new transmission lines and substations by Wheatland Electric Cooperative will allow the delivery of more reliable power to southern Kansas homes and businesses. POWER Engineers (POWER) is providing Wheatland Electric the engineering design and other services to seamlessly coordinate work on two transmission and four substation projects needed to significantly improve system reliability.

The work at Wheatland Electric is being done in conjunction with major transmission upgrades by Mid-Kansas Electric Company in the same area and includes new 138-kilovolt (kV) lines in the areas of Caldwell and Conway Springs. It also includes construction of new substations at Caldwell, Conway Springs, and Rago. A fourth substation at Bluff City will get upgrades to accommodate the new 138-kV line.

“The new 138-kV lines will provide a much more reliable source than the existing lines and will better support present and future power demands,” says Brian Tomlinson, POWER’s project manager for the work at Wheatland Electric. “The new lines, along with Mid-Kansas transmission additions, will give local distribution substations two paths to deliver electricity, providing Wheatland Electric more flexibility for restoring power during an outage, such as during a storm, thereby improving reliability.” The higher voltage lines also allow industry to consider building in areas that previously could not support their needs for electricity.

Besides engineering design, POWER’s services for the projects include support for procuring materials, putting together construction contracts, issuing construction documents to contractors, evaluating bids, recommending contract awards, holding pre-construction meetings, and more. The majority of the power projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

POWER Engineers is a global consulting engineering firm specializing in the delivery of integrated solutions for energy, food and beverage facilities, communications, environmental, and federal markets. POWER Engineers offers complete multidisciplinary engineering and program management services. Founded in 1976, it is an employee-owned company with more than 2,100 employees and over 45 offices throughout the United States and abroad.