TOPEKA – The Kansas Corporation Commission has approved a portion of the route Evergy proposed for the 133-mile Buffalo Flats to Delaware transmission line in southeast Kansas, then directed the company to explore other options for the remainder of the line to reduce environmental damage to the Flint Hills as well as interference with oil and gas leases.
The 345 kV transmission line will begin at the Buffalo Flats Substation near Garden Plain and end at the Delaware Substation near Delaware, Oklahoma after crossing through western Sedgwick, Sumner, Cowley and Chautauqua counties. The line is part of a larger Southwest Power Pool (SPP) project called the Branson 345 kV Overlay Project intended to improve the SPP Transmission system and increase the reliability and resiliency of the transmission network in Kansas and Missouri.
Commission approval of the line is determined by the necessity of the project as well as the reasonableness of the location of the line. Due to the benefits to both consumers in Kansas and outside the state, as well as economic development benefits, the Commission found the project to be necessary.
In terms of the route of the line, the Commission determined that substantial evidence exists to support a finding that the proposed route from the Buffalo Flats Substation to where the line crosses U.S. Route 77 (U.S. 77) in Cowley County is reasonable. The Commission found insufficient evidence to determine whether the route for the proposed line east of U.S. 77 to the interconnection point at the Kansas-Oklahoma border is reasonable.
The Application for the proposed route east of U.S. 77 is denied and Evergy is directed to perform a new routing study for the portion of the proposed transmission line east of U.S. 77, with strong consideration given to a route that follows or parallels the U.S. 166 Right of Way to the maximum extent feasible to reduce the potential of permanently and adversely affecting the Flint Hills or other unique ecological regions of the state or potentially impacting oil and gas activity.
Since Evergy is directed to suggest a new route for the transmission line east of U.S. 77, additional proceedings are necessary. Today’s order requires Evergy to propose an updated procedural schedule for consideration by June 12, 2026. The proposed procedural schedule will include, at a minimum, deadlines for a new routing study, the mailing of notice for a public hearing to affected landowners, the publishing of notice in the appropriate county newspapers pursuant to K.S.A. 66-1,179, a public hearing pursuant to K.S.A. 66-1,178(b), a public comment period, and a date for an evidentiary hearing.
