AMARILLO, Texas (June 18, 2018) – Continued growth in the Bushland area west of Amarillo is driving

the need for a $7.9 million investment in a new substation and distribution feeder lines that will relieve

overloading and allow for additional customer growth in the area. “We’re seeing stronger demand for electricity all over the Amarillo area, and the Bushland project is one of several ongoing efforts to stay ahead of this growth,” said David Hudson, president, Xcel Energy –Texas. “Expanding our power delivery systems west of town will provide a higher level of reliability for not only Bushland, but also Amarillo’s western neighborhoods, while sustaining growth in that area for years to come.”

A new substation called Outpost has been built on Bushland Road south of Interstate 40 that will become the primary power source for Bushland, which is currently fed from the Waterfield and Wildorado substations. The substation will serve three new feeder lines that will deliver power into neighborhoods

west of the city, and a fourth line could be added as future growth demands it. The power grid in the Amarillo area is comprised of many substations, transformers, and hundreds of miles of transmission and distribution lines. Transmission lines transport electricity from power sources into towns, cities and industrial areas. Substations transform electricity to lower voltages and send them along distribution lines that are located up and down city streets and alleys.

In addition to the Bushland upgrades, Xcel Energy is planning other projects in Amarillo over the next five years that include:

  • Improvements to other southwest Amarillo substations in 2019 that will relieve high summer loads in the medical center and also add capacity for new growth in the vicinity of Hillside Road and Soncy Street.
  • Voltage conversions in northeast Amarillo that will provide options to reroute power from one neighborhood to the next in the event of overloading or damage from storms.
  • Capacity upgrades to existing substations serving east and southeast Amarillo.
  • A relocation and upgrade of feeder lines that allows for the widening of Loop 335 in south Amarillo and paves the way for additional load growth in the Loop 335 corridor.

The investments are part of the company’s wider “Our Energy Future” initiative to strengthen and modernize electricity generating and delivery systems to enhance economic growth, job creation and

quality of life in Texas and New Mexico. More information on Our Energy Future can be found here.

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About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.