Texas grid owners join forces to build wind lines
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Several Texas transmission owners have formed a consortium to build a significant portion of the $5 billion in new power lines needed to take advantage of the state's abundant wind generation, the companies said in a regulatory filing Thursday.
The consortium consists of Dallas-based Oncor, the state's largest transmission company, Electric Transmission Texas, units of American Electric Power Co, the Lower Colorado River Authority Transmission Service Corp and Sharyland Utilities LP.
Electric Transmission Texas is a joint venture formed by AEP and MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Oncor is a subsidiary of Energy Future Holdings Corp, owned by a group of investors, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co, TPG and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners.
The companies said they would like to build about 1,000 miles of new power lines and invest more than $2 billion
A plan approved last week by the Texas Public Utility Commission calls for construction of about 2,200 miles of high-voltage power lines at a cost exceeding $5 billion. New transmission lines are needed to move electricity from the state's windiest areas to power-hungry cities.
Those new lines will accommodate about 18,500 megawatts of wind generation by 2012.
(Reporting by Eileen O'Grady; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
