Kansas Applaud the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) Regional State Committee

Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Lt. Governor Mark Parkinson, in a recent letter to the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) Regional State Committee Chair David King, applauded the Committee for their unanimous decision to treat wind energy on a more comparable basis with conventional generation sources and encouraged further action by year's end to develop a cost allocation methodology for the regional transmission system.

The new policy will allow for base-funding transmission line upgrades and certain wind energy projects to be selected as Designated Network Resources - a more equitable method of financial aid.

"Supporting policies that will expedite expansion of our transmission infrastructure will benefit Kansas, as well as the entire region," said Sebelius. "We appreciate the critical role the SPP Regional Committee has played in making a decision that will provide greater assurance of cost recovery for new projects and upgrades. We encourage speedy implementation of this policy."

In the letter Sebelius and Parkinson encourage the SPP to view transmission's benefits broadly in order to promote the needed infrastructure and also express support in moving towards "postage stamp" rates for the regional Extra High Voltage (EVH) transmission system. In addition, they emphasized the importance of simplifying cost allocation methodologies to spur the construction of the super regional transmission system.

Existing resources allow for the opportunity for Kansas to export electricity to regions in need and will provide economic development benefits, similar to what is seen in the agriculture industry.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) provides market oversight to the SPP and other regional electric power markets nationwide. The SPP operates the transmission grid in Kansas, Oklahoma and parts of New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi and Arkansas.