SAN ANGELO — Electricity has begun flowing through a major transmission line that is to be an important segment of the "Texas renewable highway," a system of power lines designed to bring electricity from West Texas wind plants to other parts of the state.

The 145-mile-long line, known as the Morgan Creek to Comanche Switch Project, is believed to be the longest 345,000-volt transmission line built in Texas in the past 25 years.

The project is the product of a joint agreement between the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), a publicly owned Texas utility, and American Electric Power (AEP), one of the nation's largest privately owned utilities. An AEP subsidiary built and will maintain the line, while LCRA's affiliate, LCRA Transmission Services Corporation, owns it. The project is one of a number of joint projects under way by LCRA and AEP in the state.

"This project is an important transmission component to delivering power from the wind-rich area of West Texas," said LCRA General Manager Joe Beal. "The project was completed on time and is a tribute to the hard work and the teamwork of the LCRA and AEP project team. It is a tremendous accomplishment."

AEP Texas State President Julio Reyes concurred with Beal on the importance of the project. "This line will be a valuable addition to the electric transmission network in Texas," he said. "AEP is pleased to be a part of this important project."

The line, which is strung on more than 600 lattice-steel transmission towers, extends from Mitchell County to north of San Angelo and east to Brown County and crosses six counties — Sterling, Coke, Tom Green, Concho, McCulloch and Coleman. The project, which cost $95 million, will be able to transport about 1,600 megawatts of electricity, enough to power roughly 800,000 homes. The Public Utility Commission of Texas gave the go-ahead for the project in August 2001, and construction began in January 2002.

The project will provide a number of services including:

• Help transport wind power from the growing number of wind farms in West Texas;
• Provide increased electric reliability to the Concho Valley/San Angelo area by providing an alternative way to get power to the area; and
• Provide a pathway for generating facilities fueled by natural gas in the Odessa/Midland area to get power to the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

LCRA, its affiliate LCRA Transmission Services Corporation, and American Electric Power have a joint development agreement to plan, build and operate needed transmission facilities in AEP's service area.

Created by LCRA in 2001, the LCRA Transmission Services Corporation enabled LCRA to meet provisions of Texas Senate Bill 7 for utilities to separate electric generation and transmission businesses. Senate Bill 7, passed by the Texas Legislature in 1999, restructured the state's electric industry and allowed LCRA to construct and operate transmission facilities throughout Texas. LCRA is a conservation and reclamation district that provides electricity, water and other services to Texans. LCRA supplies electricity to more than 1 million Texans through its wholesale customers, primarily electric cooperatives and city-owned utilities. LCRA has a long history of building and maintaining safe and reliable transmission facilities throughout a 53-county electric service area.

American Electric Power owns and operates more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and select international markets and is the largest electricity generator in the United States. AEP is also one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with almost 5 million customers linked to AEP's 11-state electricity transmission and distribution grid. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.