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Xcel gets green light on line upgrade



Article by Lisa Crockett with photo by Tim Gamble

The Douglas County Planning Commission has approved a proposal by Xcel Energy to upgrade transmission lines from the Daniels Park substation heading west, skimming the northern border of Castle Pines North (CPN) and extending roughly nine miles to the Waterton Substation on Rampart Range Road.

The project will involve taking down existing wooden “H frame” structures and replacing them with taller steel monopoles. The upgrade is the third in a series of upgrades Xcel has performed since 2002 to enable them to carry energy from renewable sources (notably wind and solar power) from other parts of the state to the front range.

The H frame poles, which were constructed in the 1960s, are between eighty five and ninety five feet tall. The new monopoles are narrower and taller, between one hundred and one hundred and fifty-feet tall.

“The tallest poles will be used in places where the lines cross streets,” said Danny Pearson, an Xcel engineer on the project. “Most poles will be in the one hundred twenty to one hundred thirty foot range.”

Xcel has been meeting with representatives from the CPN community since 2006, hammering out details regarding which type of poles would be used and agreeing to residents’ requests that poles in this upgrade project be gray, rather than the brown used on the line upgrade constructed in 2006, which heads south of the substation.

At an informational meeting in January, some residents expressed concerns regarding aesthetics, noise and safety of the project. However, the project was approved in 2009 by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, and meets established guidelines for safety and noise.

During the February hearing with the Douglas County Planning Commission, no members of the community spoke during the public comment
portion of the hearing.

The County Planning Commission is requiring that Xcel submit grading, erosion, and sediment control plans before construction begins.

“We anticipate that construction will begin in September, with an in-service date of May,” said Anne MacRae, Xcel’s representative on the project.

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