Reliability to power western North Dakota

A new transmission line is on its way to completion in western North Dakota, allowing for more electricity to be added to the grid in a few short months.

Construction began on April 4, 2024, on the Roundupto- Kummer Ridge transmission project in western North Dakota. The project includes 33 miles of new 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission line between the existing Roundup substation and the existing Kummer Ridge substation.

The Roundup-to-Kummer Ridge 345-kV transmission project was deemed necessary for the reliability of the transmission system by Southwest Power Pool, a regional transmission organization. It will enhance the transmission load serving capability in the region and mitigate reliability constraints.

“The Roundup-to-Kummer Ridge project has two primary reliability benefits for western North Dakota,” says Philip Westby, manager of Transmission Services at Basin Electric. “First, the completion of this transmission line ensures a redundant feed to the upwards of 300-megawatts being served at the Kummer Ridge Substation. This will ensure that the Kummer Ridge load can continue to be served during outages of either of the feeds serving Kummer Ridge. Second, the project provides a parallel to the Charlie Creek-to-Patent Gate 345-kV line. This parallel path will ensure reliable power will remain in western North Dakota in the event of unexpected transmission outages.”

While this project may seem like a routine transmission buildout, it is not without its challenges.

“The unique terrain for the Roundup-to-Kummer Ridge project presents design complexities and challenges for heavy construction and access,” says Bobby Nasset, supervisor of Civil Engineering at Basin Electric. “We have had over 15 days we were unable to construct due to weather. In addition, material delivery delays have made us adjust our construction sequence plan multiple times. However, the contractor has done a great job working with us to limit impacts to the schedule.”

It is estimated this new transmission line will be energized on Nov. 20 – over a year sooner than originally planned. Significant coordination between the contractor and the departments of Environmental, Permitting, Right-of-Way, and Engineering have made this possible.

“Many staff members at Basin Electric contributed to getting us to this point,” Nasset says, “but I want to recognize several specifically: Bob Kohler and Robin Weerts for all their work on surveying and putting together easement exhibits, Mike Murray and Jerry Haas in our Right-of-Way (ROW) department; Erin Dukart and Ryan King within our permitting group; Casey Jacobson from Basin Electric legal; and Shane Vasbinder who led the detailed design effort. Finally, Basin Electric’s Geographical Information Systems team led by Jason Brekke has provided critical support throughout all phases of the project, from routing, ROW acquisition, permitting, design, and construction.”

A few action items remain prior to energization of the Roundup-to-Kummer Ridge transmission line including the completion of setting structures, stringing of electrical line, and electric relay upgrades at Roundup and Kummer Ridge substations. Finally, Basin Electric Transmission Systems Maintenance (TSM) will review the installation for approval prior to Basin Electric accepting ownership.

After the line is energized, Basin Electric TSM will periodically inspect the line from the air and on the ground. Aerial inspections are routinely performed, particularly after wind, ice, or lightning storms. Ground inspections are usually performed annually to detect items needing repair or replacement that are not found by aerial inspections.

“The completion of this line will allow for more load growth in western North Dakota while reducing transmission congestion, which will benefit all transmission customers in the Basin Electric footprint,” says Westby.