The power line connects Reno County substation, located northeast of Hutchinson, with the Summit substation, located southeast of Salina.
First phase of the line, from Gordon Evans Energy Center near Wichita to the Reno County substation, was put in service in December 2008.
Westar Energy vice president of transmission operations and environmental services Kelly Harrison said that energizing phase two completes a 345kV loop around the western portion of Westar’s system, eliminating a significant constraint in the Southwest Power Pool region for the movement of energy.
Westar Energy provides electric service to more than 675,000 customers in Kansas and has about 6,500MW of electric generation capacity.
The company also operates and coordinates approximately 33,000 miles of electric distribution and transmission lines.
