GridLiance, an independent transmission company, and the City of Winfield announced a long-term partnership to jointly-own and improve the city’s transmission facilities, according to a news release Tuesday.
Under the agreement, GridLiance will acquire a 65 percent ownership stake in 29 miles of Winfield’s 69-kV transmission line and terminal equipment within five substations and invest in a needed reliability upgrade. Winfield will continue to perform operations and maintenance field services for the jointly-owned transmission facilities.
“We are delighted to be partnering with the City of Winfield and Kansas Power Pool on this acquisition and the transmission upgrades, which support GridLiance’s mission to invest in transmission infrastructure and improve grid reliability,” said Calvin Crowder, president and CEO of GridLiance. “This acquisition emphasizes our capabilities in working with municipal electric utilities to develop solutions that can address their unique financial, reliability, and transmission operational needs.”
“We are excited to be working with GridLiance on this transaction, which will benefit our entire community,” said Winfield Mayor Ron Hutto. “While we will continue to own a 35 percent stake in these transmission facilities, GridLiance will provide a partner to share in the significant financial responsibility for future upgrades and operations and maintenance, while providing Winfield with the financial flexibility to invest in transmission upgrades at our option. This ensures we will be able to improve the reliability of our electric transmission infrastructure while allowing us to focus our financial resources on our generation and distribution assets. It is important for our citizens to know that it will continue to be Winfield employees, in Winfield trucks, working on the transmission system that service Winfield’s customers.”
This is the first transaction developed under a co-development agreement between the Kansas Power Pool and GridLiance to advance transmission projects for KPP and its member cities, which includes Winfield.
“Working with GridLiance is consistent with our municipal mission and values. In implementing our partnership strategy and moving forward with this transaction, we are addressing Winfield’s transmission-related financial, reliability and resiliency issues for the benefit of Winfield customers,” said Mark Chesney, CEO and General Manager of KPP.
The transaction is subject to customary federal and state regulatory approvals and is expected to close by the end of 2019.
Winfield supplies electricity to approximately 8,100 customers. The Cities of Winfield, Burden, Dexter as well as Strother Field Industrial Park and much of the rural area of northern Cowley County receives electric service from the City.
The Kansas Power Pool is a municipal energy agency created under Kansas statutes with the expressed purpose of providing energy and transmission services for its member / owner municipal electric utilities since 2005.
GridLiance is an electric transmission utility holding company. Based in Dallas, Texas, GridLiance is a portfolio company of Blackstone Energy Partners, an affiliate of Blackstone (NYSE:BX), a leading energy infrastructure investor. GridLiance partners with electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, irrigation districts, and renewable energy developers to invest in electric infrastructure and implement strategies that meet its partners’ ownership, capital investment, and operational goals. GridLiance currently operates hundreds of miles of transmission lines and related substation facilities in Nevada, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
The company has long-term partnerships with utility partners operating in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Texas, and is negotiating new arrangements with utilities in several other states.
