[Press Release] : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: City Council to Hold Special, Second Public Hearing to Discuss Transmission Line Routes

[Press Releases]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Columbia Water & Light
573-874-7325
wlmail at gocolumbiamo.com

City Council to Hold Special, Second Public Hearing to Discuss Transmission Line Routes 

COLUMBIA, MO (January 14, 2016) - The Columbia City Council will hold a special, second public hearing regarding route options for The Columbia Electric Transmission Line Project at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19, in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 701 E. Broadway. 

 

Columbia Water & Light (CWL) customers, those who own or work on property near any of the three proposed routes, or those who have inquired about The Columbia Electric Transmission Line Project are urged to attend. Those who cannot attend should pass their comments along to  City Council and the Mayor.  

 

The route options in southern Columbia are known as Option A (the currently approved route), Option B and Option B-2. Council decided to reopen discussions on the three route options after area residents raised concerns about Option A. 

 

The City Council voted to approve the current route, Option A, in 2013 following the first public hearing. Work began on the approved route in 2014. To date, CWL has encumbered $7.1 million on the project including substation land, 161 kV equipment and engineering work such as surveying, soil studies, utility locating, pole design and preliminary pole placement. Work on the project stopped in November 2015 and is on hold pending outcomes of the special, second public hearing. Some of the money spent on the project could be recovered, but changing route options could result in at least $3 million would be lost and would need to be budgeted to re-do some of the work already spent on the Option A route.

 

The electrical grid for the city works as an integrated system that manages and carries electricity to customers throughout the entire community. TheCityofColumbia must meet federal reliability guidelines and mandates. The existing transmission system needs additional electrical transmissioncapacitytoreliablydeliverelectricitytoColumbiansnowandinthefuture.

 

Background Information:

The first public hearing on route selection for The Columbia Electric Transmission Line Project took place in July 2013. Following the hearing, the City Council voted to approve Option A be built overhead. This was after a lengthy process where Council considered multiple routes known as Option A, Option B and Option B-2.

 

The current Columbia Electric Transmission Line Project includes a new substation and 161 kV high-voltage transmission lines that run along Option A. The Option A route extends along Scott Boulevard, Vawter School Road, Nifong Boulevard, Grindstone Parkway and Providence Road/Route K. The Options B and B-2 routes also utilize 161 kV linesthatrun along sections ofthesouthwesternedgeofthecity, but additionally includeanew69kVsectionoflinebuilt alongButtonwoodandthe CampusView Drivearea.

 

CWL’s electric system improvements are paid through customers’ rates, not taxes. In April 2015, Columbia voters approved a bond issue that included some of the money needed to build the substation and additional transmission lines. 

 

For more details about this project: PoweringColumbia.com or GoColumbiaMo.com (search for "transmission")

 



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