By JEANETTE JACKMAN - THE GAZETTE
Xcel Energy has come up with a third plan to carry electricity from Midway to Aurora that it hopes will be more acceptable to El Paso County residents.
A plan released Friday calls for upgrading a transmission line that runs about six miles east of Powers Boulevard. North of El Paso County, it angles west to Castle Rock.
The line is 1.3 miles west of Falcon Town Center at Meridian and Woodmen roads.
Residents who opposed two earlier plans for building a new line in eastern El Paso County said Friday they are encouraged by the change in plans.
Xcel officials said new technology and construction techniques make it possible to upgrade the existing transmission line to complete the Midway-Smoky Hill project.
"When we first considered the Midway-Smoky Hill project we thought it would be impossible to build along the Daniels Park-Midway line," Xcel spokesman Steve Roalstad said.
The new plan would reduce construction costs and require fewer miles of power lines. Initially, Xcel planned a 105-mile line; the existing line is 73 miles.
Roalstad also said Xcel will not need to acquire additional easement for the plan.
The new steel poles will be 30 feet to 50 feet taller than the wood H-frame towers they would replace. They would be the same distance apart as the existing structures, Roalstad said.
The new line would consist of two parallel 345,000-volt lines replacing the parallel 230,000-volt lines. The electric and magnetic fields and noise would be reduced with the new lines.
"The dual electric and magnetic fields coming out from the towers will cancel each other out," Roalstad said. "The additional height should reduce the noise."
In March 2002, Minneapolis-based Xcel unveiled plans to build a 345,000-volt line along Ellicott Highway through Peyton, Ellicott and Calhan.
Hundreds of residents opposed the line, saying the 175-foot towers would decrease property values, create health hazards and damage the view of the mountains.
Xcel officials then considered routes east of Peyton, Ellicott and Calhan to connect the power plant south of Fountain to Aurora.
A second proposal ran the power line corridor north and south just east of Calhan.
In December, Xcel said it was delaying a decision about where to build the transmission line.
Xcel's first plan motivated residents to form the Eastern Plains Citizens Coalition, a nonprofit corporation that opposes the line.
Bill Miller, vice president of the coalition, said members are encouraged by the new proposal.
"We appreciate that Xcel took the time to seek public input, and then used the input collected to come up with a better plan," Miller said. "The new plan is going to impact the public less because there are already substantial power lines where the new lines will be built."
Roalstad said residents can hear about the plan and make comments at public meetings this month. The plan also is being advertised in newspapers and direct mail.
Roalstad said if the plan is approved, construction will begin in summer 2004 with completion expected in April 2005.
Xcel serves about 1.2 million customers in Colorado. None are in Colorado Springs, which owns its own electric utility.