Ranchers force redraw of Flint Hills Transmission line
The ranchers and farmers who fought a proposed 133-mile transmission line route through their historic Flint Hills lands in Kansas won a fight before the Kansas Corporation Commission.
Regulators decided this week that Evergy, the utility wanting to build the line through the Flint Hills and into parts of northeast Oklahma, would have to come up with a new route.
Commissioners gave a unanimous approval to the transmission line but also stopped short of allowing the line to cross U.S. Highway 77 east into the Flint Hills, saying Evergy must reconsider that portion of the line, reported the Kansas Reflector.
“The order notes that the commission takes seriously any activity that has the potential to permanently and adversely affect the Flint Hills or other unique ecological regions of the state,” said Tristan Kimbrell, KCC assistant general counsel, who summarized the order.
“The order also notes that the Commission takes seriously the potential impact the transmission line may have on oil and gas operations, and indicates that Evergy should have made greater efforts to communicate with oil and gas operators during its routing study for the proposed line,” he said.
Numerous landowners testified against the proposed line because it would destroy prairie grasslands and interfere with ranching, farming and oil and gas operations.
Evergy’s 345-kV transmission line is to start at a substation near Garden Plain, Kansas and end at the Delaware Substation near Delaware in northeast Oklahoma. In Kansas, the line will cross through western Sedgwick, Sumner, Cowley and Chautauqua counties.
The 345-kV transmission line will begin at the Buffalo Flats Substation near Garden Plain, Kansas, and end at the Delaware Substation near Delaware, Oklahoma. It will cross through western Sedgwick, Sumner, Cowley and Chautauqua counties. It is meant to be part of a project for the Southwest Power Pool and was originally expected to be in operation by 2029.
The project is known in Southwest Power Pool documents as the Branson 345 kV overlay projects. It consists of three parts with a total cost of nearly $1 billion. In a January 2025 report, the SSP estimated a $484 million cost for that part.
Evergy asked the Kansas Corporation Commission for approval of the route. If given, it would allow construction to begin in 2027 with completion made in 2029. The company says it plans on building 133 miles of line in Kansas but 20 miles will be constructed by American Electric Power in Oklahoma.
The project is known in Southwest Power Pool documents as the Branson 345 kV overlay projects. It consists of three parts with a total cost of nearly $1 billion. It starts with an approximately 155-mile line from the Buffalo Flats substation in Kansas, to Delaware, Oklahoma. In a January 2025 report, the SSP estimated a $484 million cost for that part.
Cole Bailey, Evergy corporate counsel, testified in previous KCC hearings that the transmission line is part of the Southwest Power Pool’s integrated transmission plan, which considers projected utility usage and needed infrastructure to ensure system reliability.
SPP is a regional transmission organization, one of seven approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as nonprofit agencies that oversee transmission infrastructure, ensure utility system reliability and manage the wholesale electricity market.
KCC granted Evergy’s application for a siting permit on the proposed line west of U.S. Highway 77 but required the company to amend its landowner protocols and to work with landowners and the oil and gas industry to understand infrastructure that will be affected by the proposed route, Kimbrell said.
“The order denies the application for the proposed route east of U.S. 77 and directs Evergy to perform a new routing study for that portion of the proposed transmission line, with strong consideration given to a route that follows or parallels the U.S. Route 166 highway,” Kimbrell said.