Transmission System and System Operations

Sunflower's transmission system, in conjunction with Mid-Kansas Electric, LLC, contains more than 2,374 miles of transmission line that must be in service regardless of weather conditions. That system (and many of our dedicated employees) has many times suffered through ice storms, hail storms, and tornadoes.

The transmission system is comprised of 222 miles of 345-kV line, 193 miles of 230-kV line, 86 miles of 138-kV line, 1,723 miles of 115-kV line, and 74 miles of 69-kV line. The system is spread over central and western Kansas and includes 76 substations, 64 Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) for System Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), and 14 microwave sites providing communications for the system.

Maintenance on this complex system is accomplished by the 31 individuals who are assigned to the transmission department. Their hard work, in coordination with the System Control Center, ensures that the power generated is reliably delivered to the six Member systems and Sunflower’s other wholesale customers.

Sunflower’s System Control Center monitors the transmission network and manages Sunflower’s interconnections with other utilities 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. The Center is also responsible for the purchase of power and energy when required and markets any excess power Sunflower may have available to other utilities.

The volatility of the wholesale power market in recent years has required Sunflower’s system operators to be ever vigilant in their work to make sure that Sunflower’s Member systems are protected from unreasonably high prices and the risks of our interconnections with an increasingly unstable regional transmission network. We salute them for their many accomplishments.