Why Tri-State plans more transmission

Colorado-based wholesale supplier plans $186.5 million investments in lines that will open up more than 700 MW of renewable energy

Tri-State Generation and Transmission is investing $186.5 million in four major projects that will make more than 700 megawatts of renewable energy in eastern Colorado available:

Construction began in February of a 230-kilovolt transmission line between substations at Burlington and Lamar, along Colorado’s eastern tier.
Modification of certain structures on its existing Big Sandy 230-kV line between Limon and Burlington.
Engineering has begun on a 30-mile-long, 230-kV line from a substation near Boone, east of Pueblo, to a new switching station south of Pueblo called Huckleberry.
Routing activities are underway for a new 80-mile-long, 230-kV transmission line between the Big Sandy Substation near Limon, to a new Badger Creek switching station south of Fort Morgan.

All of the projects are planned for completion between the first quarter of 2025 and the fourth quarter of 2028.

“Tri-State is taking an incremental and pragmatic approach to additional transmission needs on our system,” said Chris Pink, Tri-State senior vice president for operation, in an April 2 posting on the Tri-State website. “All of these efforts will ensure that we provide reliable service to our members, eliminate system bottlenecks and support future clean energy additions.”

In the posting, Tri-State noted that its Eastern Colorado Transmission Expansion is separate from Colorado’s Power Pathway, a $1.7 billion project by Xcel Energy to deliver generation from renewables in a 550-mile loop around eastern Colorado to the Front Range of Colorado.

Tri-State’s studies confirm that Xcel’s transmission project and Tri-State’s planned transmission system improvements will not interfere with each other. Instead, they together will help achieve Colorado’s renewable energy and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

Tri-State also says this transmission will aid in executing the plans proposed in its 2023 Electric Resource Plan, which was filed with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission in December 2023. That plan identifies the addition of 1,250 megawatts of renewable energy and energy storage through 2031.

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