Meeting our Present and Future Energy Needs
Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc. (Minnkota) is proposing a new transmission line - the Center to Grand Forks 345kV Transmission Line Project - to meet our obligations as a transmission services provider for grid reliability and to meet long-term load growth needs. The Center to Grand Forks Project helps to address the longstanding need to improve voltage support in the northern Red River Valley region. The recent reassignment of an existing transmission line also drives the need for additional transmission facilities.
Minnkota has proposed the construction of approximately 250 miles of 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission line from Center, North Dakota to Grand Forks, North Dakota. It is anticipated to be completed in 2013 to enable the transmission of energy from the existing Milton R. Young 2 power station directly to the Minnkota's service territory.
The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC), the primary guardian of national electrical grid reliability, defines reliability as "the degree to which the performance of the elements of (the electrical) system results in power being delivered to consumers within accepted standards and in the amount desired." NERC's definition of reliability encompasses two concepts, adequacy, and security.
Adequacy is defined as "the ability of the system to supply the aggregate electric power and energy requirements of the consumers at all times" and implies that there are sufficient generation and transmission resources available to meet projected needs plus reserves for contingencies.
NERC defines security as "the ability of the system to withstand sudden disturbances" which implies that the system will remain intact even after an unplanned outage.
Minnkota is a generation and transmission cooperative that serves 11 distribution cooperatives within eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota and is headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Minnkota also serves as operating agent for the Northern Municipal Power Agency, an association of 12 municipal utilities in the same service region.
