Evergy wants to build new transmission line across 4 Kansas counties. Here’s where
The Kansas Corporation Commission is asking for public feedback after major utility company Evergy proposed a new transmission line that will spread 133 miles across four Kansas counties.
Evergy’s proposal is to build a transmission line starting at Buffalo Flats substation near Garden Plain in Sedgwick County and running through Sumner, Cowley and Chautauqua counties, stretching more than 130 miles in Kansas. It would end in Delaware, Okla.
An additional 30 miles of the transmission line in Oklahoma would be built by American Electric Power, Evergy says.
“The new infrastructure will enhance electrical reliability for Sedgwick, Sumner, Cowley and Chautauqua counties, surrounding communities and Kansas as a whole, as well as strengthen the regional power grid and prepare for growth. This line will also allow power to be delivered in both directions,” Evergy’s website reads.
A transmission line is a power line that moves electricity from one point to the other. Under the proposal, construction would occur in segments with the line in operation by December 2029.
Construction in Sedgwick County would begin in fall 2027, while work in Sumner and Cowley counties wouldn’t kick off until spring 2028, and Chautauqua County in summer of that year.
The proposed route was selected by Evergy through open houses with landowners and insight from state and federal agencies, the application says. The utility estimates the total cost would be nearly $500 million, dependent on “the final route selected, structure design, changes in commodity prices and labor rates,” the application reads.
Evergy customers will pay a percentage of the cost of constructing the transmission line based on their Southwest Power Pool pricing zone, the application reads.
Kaley Sturgeon, senior communications manager at Evergy, told The Eagle the average residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month would pay an additional $3.37 every year beginning in 2029, when the transmission line begins operating. That cost would decline every year, Sturgeon said.
“Efficiencies created by the line will lower other costs,” Sturgeon said.
Energy bills for Kansas Evergy customers are already on the rise. The most recent rate change for Wichita Evergy customers came in October, when customers in the Evergy Kansas Central service area incurred a hike of around $8 on their bill per month.
How can I comment on the transmission proposal?
The public will have two opportunities to hear about the transmission line’s location and ask questions: Wednesday, Jan. 7, in Sedan and Thursday, Jan. 8, in Winfield.
“The public hearings will give Kansas residents an opportunity to learn more about the proposed location of the line, ask questions, and make public comments before the Commission,” a December press release from the Kansas Corporation Commission reads. “Prior to each hearing, Commission Staff and Evergy representatives will be present at an Open House to answer questions and discuss maps of the proposed route.”
Sedan’s open house will be from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at Sedan High School, with the public hearing beginning at 6 p.m. Winfield’s open house will be from 3 to 6 p.m. in Christy Administration Building at Southwestern College, with the public hearing also beginning 6 p.m.
If you cannot make either public meeting, there will be Zoom options available, the Kansas Corporation Commission said. You can register on KCC’s website. Additionally, the public can submit written comments on the proposal until 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23.
This story was originally published January 6, 2026 at 9:40 AM.
