Tri-State owns (wholly or jointly) or has maintenance responsibilities for more than 5,200 miles of transmission line across Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. Line crews and substation technicians work to ensure power delivery is safe and reliable.
Tri-State continues to invest in transmission infrastructure to ensure dependable power delivery to its 44 member cooperatives throughout its four-state service territory. The West’s vast power supply network is currently strained – improvements and expansion to the system are essential to enhancing regional power reliability.
Tri-State’s key transmission construction projects, include:
Tri-State acquires all appropriate land use permits from counties and other jurisdictions crossed by transmission line routes, as well as acquires all long-term easements from landowners for rights-of-way.
The majority of consumers served by Tri-State’s member systems live in rural areas. Rural communities receive many benefits from new transmission, including greater power reliability and increased opportunities for economic development.
How transmission lines deliver power
While the power plants output electricity at voltages of 10,000 to 15,000 volts, transformers step up power for overhead transmission lines to between 220,000 and 400,000 volts. As voltage increases, current decreases, which more efficiently carries the power across extended distances.
The high voltages transmitted across the transmission lines are far too powerful to be used by households or businesses. Distribution networks operated by Tri-State's member cooperatives provide the gateway between power transmission and power use. The transmission grid and distribution networks converge at substations where transformers step down the voltage and deliver it to end-use consumers.
Source: EDAW
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. 1100 W. 116th Avenue Westminster, CO 80234 (303) 452-6111
