CHICAGO & HOOKER, Okla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GridLiance Holdco, LP, through subsidiary South Central MCN LLC (“GridLiance” or “the Company”), and Tri-County Electric Cooperative (“TCEC”) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which GridLiance will acquire TCEC’s electric transmission assets, including approximately 410 miles of 69 and 115 kV transmission lines and the related substation infrastructure.
Upon close, GridLiance will assume full operational responsibility of TCEC’s transmission assets, including federal, state and regional compliance requirements. The transaction is subject to federal regulatory approval and is expected to be completed by year end.
“We are excited to join forces with TCEC and believe that our partnership will bring important benefits, including never before available opportunities for TCEC to invest in Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (“SPP”) transmission projects that will reduce congestion and provide more reliable transmission service,” said Ed Rahill, GridLiance’s President and CEO. “TCEC will also benefit from our experience and scale as we operate and maintain the transmission system, represent them in the SPP planning process and ensure compliance with mandated reliability and other regulatory requirements.”
“GridLiance is the ideal long-term partner for TCEC and our members, and becoming a part of its network allows us to rely on GridLiance to move ahead with important transmission level reliability projects that we otherwise could not have completed on our own,” said Jack Perkins, CEO of TCEC. “Additionally, we will be able to reallocate funding and resources to upgrade our distribution system, put our transmission assets into the hands of proven, experienced operators and have the direct ability to offset the rising costs of transmission service.”
GridLiance, which is backed by Blackstone Energy Partners, an affiliate of Blackstone (NYSE:BX), is the nation’s first competitive transmission company focused on collaborating with under-served U.S. municipal, cooperative and joint action agency utilities (“Public Power”). GridLiance’s differentiated operating model enables its Public Power partners to invest in regulated transmission projects – an investment opportunity often inaccessible to them. GridLiance’s planning and development models are focused on providing more reliable transmission to Public Power customers and hedging rising costs for regionally-planned projects. In addition to jointly planning, developing, owning and operating new transmission assets, GridLiance works with Public Power entities to identify existing transmission infrastructure that can be efficiently and cost-effectively upgraded and integrated into their Regional Transmission Organization (“RTO”).
In connection with the TCEC agreement, GridLiance today made a regulatory filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”). GridLiance’s application describes the substantial public policy benefits of its Public Power partnership model. GridLiance’s operating model advances FERC’s policy objectives by giving a greater voice to Public Power in coordinated, large-scale regional planning of the nation’s electric grid and expanding Public Power’s access to investment in grid projects to ease congestion, bolster reliability and integrate renewable energy.
GridLiance also announced today that it has entered into an agreement with the City of Nixa, Missouri to purchase Nixa’s approximately 10 miles of electric transmission lines and related facilities. The TCEC and Nixa acquisitions are consistent with GridLiance’s strategy to seek opportunities to acquire and operate existing electric transmission lines and related facilities owned by Public Power utilities, enabling them to focus on their distribution business and other core obligations.
About GridLiance GP, LLC
Incorporated in 2014, GridLiance GP, LLC is the nation’s first competitive transmission company focused on collaborating with Public Power. Through its subsidiary transmission companies formed to operate in each RTO, GridLiance will jointly plan, develop, own and operate transmission assets with Public Power. GridLiance’s mission is to provide its Public Power partners with opportunities to invest in regulated transmission development projects, enabling the utilities to earn margins from regionally-funded projects to offset transmission rate increases, as well as receive other benefits, including lower energy costs and increased reliability for their customers, while providing greater access to renewable energy sources. GridLiance has offices in Kansas City, Missouri; Chicago, Illinois; and Austin, Texas. GridLiance seeks to establish long-term agreements with all interested Public Power utilities. It currently has 30-year joint development agreements with the Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission (MJMEUC) and the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA), operating within MISO and SPP through its subsidiaries, South Central MCN, LLC and Midcontinent MCN, LLC, respectively. To learn more, please visit www.gridliance.com.
About Tri-County Electric Cooperative
Headquartered in Hooker, Oklahoma, Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TCEC) is a not-for-profit distribution cooperative owned and controlled by its members. TCEC is committed to improving the quality of life for its members and communities by delivering safe, reliable and affordable electric service. The cooperative serves about 23,000 meters in the Oklahoma Panhandle, southwestern Kansas, the northern border of the Texas Panhandle and parts of Colorado and New Mexico. TCEC is a Touchstone Energy cooperative. For more information, visit www.tcec.coop.