The Community Working Group (CWG) met for a second time on January 16, 2020, at the Eaton Area Community Center in Eaton, Colorado. Topics included technical information of underground transmission lines, electromagnetic fields (EMF), and an overview of project construction. The Xcel Energy team provided the results of resource and land use studies and an opportunities and constraints analysis conducted to identify preliminary potential route segments for the transmission lines and for identifying a target area for the new Eaton-area substation. The preliminary potential route segments for the transmission line and substation target area were presented to the CWG members. The CWG members were asked to comment on the preliminary potential route segments for the transmission line. The preliminary potential route segments also were displayed at a public open house to be held January 28, 2020, at the Eaton Area Community Center from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
January 2020
Local citizens representing various community interests are part of a Community Working Group (CWG) formed to work with the project team over the course of the siting and technical studies for this project. The first CWG meeting was held on November 5, 2019, at the Eaton Area Community Center in Eaton, Colorado. Topics covered the purpose of the CWG and roles and responsibilities of the CWG and Xcel Energy in the siting and routing process. The Xcel Energy team gave an overview of the planning process for electric systems, need for the project and the project components. The Xcel Energy team also presented an overview of the study process they will use for siting and routing the new Eaton-area substation and the new transmission lines. The CWG members were asked to provide input on the draft facility siting criteria, part of the siting and routing process, to Xcel Energy.
January 2020
The project includes replacing existing steel double-circuit lattice structures, and 69 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines, with double-circuit steel monopole structures and transmission lines designed to operate at 115kV standards. The transmission lines will continue to operate at 69kV until future needs arise. Proposed structure heights will vary. In some cases, new structures may be approximately twenty feet taller than existing structures.
