Transmission Services
The vital backbone of our Power Delivery Infrastructure
Our transmission services connect our substations and switchyards to power generation plants in Grant County and the rest of the Western Power Grid. Expanding our transmission line services is a vital part of how Grant PUD will meet Grant County’s future energy needs.
Distribution
• Lower voltage
• Materials - wood poles with wires
spanning up to 250 ft.
• Typical height 35 ft.
Transmission
• Higher voltage
• Materials - wood or steel with wires
spanning up to 1,500 ft
• Typical height 120 ft.
Benefits
INCREASED CAPACITY
Our projections show the next decade will bring even faster growth, as more families arrive, business and industry expands, and emerging new sectors (like EVs). This will require more electricity than we can currently supply. The QTEP projects will increase the load limit from approximately 300MW to 650MW to serve this need.
GRID REDUNDANCY
Additional transmission lines increase the pathways that power can flow into the communities of Grant County. Redundant connections provide additional reliability.
REDUCED OUTAGES
A more robust transmission system with multiple pathways for electricity to travel throughout the county allows us to perform maintenance and make repairs without lengthy customer outages.
KEEP RATES LOW
Industries purchasing power above Grant PUD's cost with additional transmission services will provide revenue to keep rates at or below cost for core customers.
Transmission Services are vital to Grant County’s growing economy
Did you know?
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Based on current application interest, Grant PUD expects to at least double its peak power load from approximately 1,000 Megawatts in 2024 to more than 2,000 by 2035.
- The costs for building and maintaining transmission lines are recovered long-term through rates charged to our wholesale and retail customers.
- Grant PUD owns and operates almost 500 miles of transmission lines in Grant County, and plans to build about 100 more miles in the next 10 years.
Grant PUD has a new Transmission Team
Grant PUD is advancing its strategic capabilities through the creation of a new team, “Transmission Strategy & Development,” tasked with:
Transmission study
Studying opportunities to maximize the potential of existing transmission lines.
Expansion planning
Planning for addition of new transmission lines to Grant PUD's power system to meet the growing demand.
Transmission policy
Developing policies, agreements, and rates for the various uses of our transmission system, such as the interconnection of new generation resources or delivery of power across our system, called “wheeling.”
A dedicated team at Grant PUD is exploring various options to secure the additional energy needed to power our county affordably and reliably, while ensuring compliance with Washington's clean energy mandate. This is helping Grant PUD lead the way in clean energy innovation and environmental stewardship.
Learn about all the ways Grant PUD is Powering Our Future at grantpud.org/future
