Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) hired an engineering firm to permit, design and construct a transmission line crossing the South Canadian River and various wetlands while minimizing environmental impacts.

Problem: OG&E needed to build a line from the McClain Substation to the 134th/Penn switch structure.  By tying substations together OG&E created an alternative path to export power from the McClain power plant.

The firm engineered a solution for the 5 miles of 138-kV transmission line — utilizing aluminum conductor composite core (ACCC) cable and fiber-optic, overhead wire supported by single, self-supporting, steel structures — to improve grid reliability.

The ACCC cable crosses the South Canadian River with the longest span of ACCC currently installed in the U.S. — more than 1,700 feet.

Higher conductor tensions and decreased sag allow for reduced height of self-supporting structures. The firm designed to the ACCC’s strengths to avoid wetlands.

The firm delivered this challenging project on budget and energized it two weeks ahead of schedule.

The Transmission Technology: McClain to 134th/Penn Project Was Designed by

Burns & McDonnell based in Kansas City, Missouri. This project was a gold medal

winner in the 2010 ACEC Texas Engineering Excellence Awards Competition.