U.S. T&D Providers Prepare for Buildouts in Scorching Summer

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Hotter weather means more energy demand, and temperatures this summer are expected to be especially high. A "heat dome" that has been scorching Mexico for the past few weeks, leading to dozens of deaths, is headed to the U.S. West, according to Weather.com, and other parts of the country already were reporting higher-than-average temperatures toward the end of the spring season. This means transmission and distribution (T&D) systems will be facing enormous stress, and many likely will need improvements to handle the extra capacity. Industrial Info is tracking more than $5.6 billion worth of T&D projects set to begin construction across the U.S. in the third quarter.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 U.S. states for T&D projects slated to kick off in the third quarter.

One of the highest-valued projects nearing construction spans two Northwestern states: Idaho Power Company's $840 million line from Boardman, Oregon, to Melba, Idaho, which runs 300 miles and coincides with the $40 million construction of the Longhorn Substation in Boardman. Called the Boardman-to-Hemingway project, it will carry 1,000 megawatts (MW), much of it generated by renewable sources, to the existing Hemingway Substation in Melba. Idaho Power is a subsidiary of Idacorp Incorporated (NYSE:IDA) (Boise, Idaho).

Despite years of investment and development, the project could be facing a new round of delays. Lisa Grow, the chief executive officer of Idacorp, acknowledged in a recent earnings-related conference call that "regulatory permitting delays on the Boardman to Hemingway project will likely push the in-service date to 2027," after it had been planned for mid-2026. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more from detailed reports on the transmission line and substation.

American Electric Power Company Incorporated (NASDAQ:AEP) (AEP) (Columbus, Ohio) is preparing for a series of T&D buildouts across the eastern U.S., including the Niles Area Transmission Improvements Project in Indiana and Michigan and the Black Diamond-Stillwell Transmission Line Project in Ohio.

The Niles Area project, which saw a substation expansion in Michigan kick off last month, involves strengthening the local power grid through line and substation upgrades; construction of a 1.5-mile, $3 million line and a $24 million substation in South Bend, Indiana are expected to kick off in the third quarter. Subscribers can learn more from detailed reports on the transmission line and substation.

AEP's Ohio-based subsidiary also is planning power grid upgrades with its Black Diamond-Stillwell project, for which construction is expected to begin in the third quarter on three new substations and overhauls to three line segments:

• the $15 million Fort Frizzle Substation in Glenmont; see project report
• the $15 million Schlegel Substation in Shreve; see project report
• the $15 million Black Diamond Substation in Millersburg; see project report
• a $12 million line from Glenmont to Killbuck; see project report
• a $12 million line from Killbuck to Glenmont; see project report
• a $10 million line from Killbuck to Millersburg; see project report

Ben Fowke, the interim chief executive officer of AEP, said in a recent earnings-related conference call that Ohio was the biggest driver of incremental loads on the PJM Interconnection's system, "although Indiana is definitely getting its share. And I suspect we will have to do incremental RFPs [requests for proposals] to capture that load." Fowke and other executives noted that plans to construct more data centers account for much of the expected load growth projected for the region.

AEP already is looking at an ambitious project slate, as shifting population trends and the rapidly rising demand for data-center services will force it to find creative and heavy-duty solutions. For more information, see May 17, 2024, article - AEP Maps Out Billions of Dollars in U.S. Transmission Growth.

Texas has seen its demand for grid improvements skyrocket amid summer temperatures that grow hotter by the year. CPS Energy, the municipal utility of San Antonio, is preparing for a $32 million rebuild of a line running 12 miles within city limits. CPS also is planning $3 million in upgrades to the Grandview Substation in San Antonio, where one end of the line terminates; the other substation expects to finish its own upgrades in the coming weeks. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the line rebuild and substation upgrades.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active and planned T&D projects across the U.S. that are set to begin construction in the third quarter.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).