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June 22, 2008

Transmission route finalized

After a comprehensive process that included town meetings and hundreds of meetings with landowners, Oklahoma Gas and Electric announced this week they have reached a final decision on the route for a new high capacity electric transmission lines.

The project is a 120 mile construction project that will consist of transmission lines that would run from Piedmont, through Kingfisher, Blaine, Dewey, and Woodward Counties. Construction is slated to begin later this year, if approvals by the Corporation Commission are forthcoming, OG&E; spokesman Gil Broyles said.

Earlier in the year, OG&E; held four public forums where they produced maps and photos of the two proposed routes they would consider.

The forums generated some negative input from those in the area who are concerned about the impact of high voltage transmission lines on wildlife in the area as well as other issues, including health concerns.

According to Broyles, the public input was immeasurably valuable with regard to the company’s final route choice.

Broyles said both negative e and positive input was needed to determine the best route for the transition.

“In one instance there was a private airport on some property that we were not aware of,” Broyles said. “ We needed to do a slight reroute. It was information that without the public forums and input from landowners, that we would not have had.”

Still, there were others who simply strongly opposed having the lines run through their property, while others were upset because the lines were not running through theirs, Broyles said.

Ultimately, all of the input gathered and combined with engineering data were the factors in determining what route would be provide the best electrical infrastructure to and from Western Oklahoma while impacting the land the least, Broyles said.

The route will begin at the a main substation in Piedmont and will run north and west through the southern central portion of Kingfisher County.

It will continue west through the central portion, just south of Watonga, through Blaine County. From that point, it turns in a more northerly direction through Dewey County.

In Dewey County, the line will run just west of Oakwood and just north of Taloga where it turns sharply north as it goes into Woodward County.

“The first step now, after determining the final route is getting permission to do surveys on private land,” Broyles said. “Right now, we are working on surveys on land that is already public easement land and then when we get the permission, those surveys will continue where private land is concerned.”

When surveys are complete, Broyles said agents will begin to discuss easements and more specifically, the position of poles so that land that is in cultivation, is accessible to the farmer or rancher.

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