Xcel Energy is proposing the Hiawatha Project to meet demand caused by population growth, increased load density and economic development in the area. The increase in the demand for power has resulted in an escalating number of feeder circuit overloads and service interruptions.

Xcel Energy acknowledges in its filing that the Hiawatha Project proposes routing transmission facilities through a densely populated urban area and that this raises important issues for the community. In developing its proposal, Xcel Energy worked proactively with local government, residents, business owners and neighborhood groups. In part because of those efforts, Xcel Energy has submitted an application that includes overhead and underground options.

Judy Poferl, Xcel Energy’s regional vice president, said “Xcel Energy respects the preference for underground facilities voiced by residents and others in the area and we have been meeting with city council members and county officials to identify potential options to cover the incremental cost of underground construction. We encourage the community to actively participate in the routing process to fully develop the record on this important policy issue.”

In the application, there are four route and five construction design options. The proposed routes utilize street corridors along the southern rim of the Midtown Greenway at street level, and along 26th, 28th, and 31st Streets. The estimated total cost for the project, depending upon route and transmission line design (overhead or underground), is between $28.4 million and $41.8 million.

The proposal also includes two location options for each proposed substation:

The Hiawatha Substation preferred location would be located along Hiawatha Avenue near 28th Street. The preferred site uses an open piece of land. The alternate site, immediately adjacent to the preferred site, would require the removal of a warehouse.

The Midtown Substation preferred location would utilize an existing former substation site on the northwest corner of Oakland Avenue South and 29th Street and adjacent vacant land. It would require the removal of a condemned and unoccupied triplex. The alternate site, to the south of 29th Street, would require relocation of an industrial company and demolition of that facility.

Pending approval, construction on the Hiawatha Project would begin in 2010, with service delivery beginning in 2011.