Your Questions Answered: The Delta-Plains Transmission Corridor

Oklahoma House Speaker Designate Kyle Hilbert, (R-Bristow,) announced Thursday night at a packed meeting in Sapulpa the controversial federal plan to designate more than 600 miles of Oklahoma land as possible home for electrical transmission lines will not be built.

The proposal has prompted questions from people statewide.

Even though it's not going to happen, Hilbert said an official word from the U.S. Department of Energy will come on Monday: here's what we know about the proposal.

Q: What parts of the state would have been impacted?

A: The proposed 645-mile corridor spanned northern Oklahoma. It started near the Arkansas border by Fort Smith, paralleled I-40 near Sallisaw, then meandered north through south Tulsa County, Okmulgee County, Creek County, south of Stillwater, and across I-35, ultimately reaching Woodward and the Panhandle.

Q: What would this line have done?

A: If would have ferried electricity across the state and allowed the Southern Power Pool to move electricity across its service area to meet demand.

Q: Why build new transmission lines?

A: The SPP said in its most recent assessment report it expects an increased load on its system because there are new sources that pull power from the grid, like data centers, and utilities are retiring older power supplies like coal-fired plants. More transmission lines allow it to move electricity across the system easier and more efficiently.

Q: What does the SPP say they need to meet demand across Oklahoma and the rest of its service area?

A: It recommends new projects including:

1. 1,788 miles of extra-high voltage transmission (EHV)
2. 148 miles of rebuilt EHV transmission infrastructure
3. 545 miles of new high-voltage transmission
4. 347 miles of rebuilt high-voltage transmission.

Q: Why were people upset in Oklahoma?

A: Many were worried about eminent domain and the possibility this project would result in unwanted transmission lines being strewn across their land.

Q: What happens next?

A: The DOE is still narrowing down potential transmission corridors across the country. Hilbert did tell the crowd Thursday nobody will have lines built on their property without their approval.