AMARILLO, Texas-Xcel Energy has started construction in New Mexico on a 345-kilovolt transmission line meant to hook up with electric distribution operations in Texas.
Formal groundbreaking ceremonies were held Tuesday near Hobbs, N.M., as part of the $400 million project. Officials say the line should be in service in 2018 and could eventually connect with a substation north of Abernathy, Texas, pending regulatory approval.
A similar Xcel project was completed in 2014 connecting the Texas substation to a unit near Woodward, Oklahoma.
Xcel officials say when all the segments are completed the company should have more than 400 miles (644 kilometers) of transmission from western Oklahoma to southeastern New Mexico.