Xcel Energy completes $7.6M substation upgrade in Amarillo

Xcel Energy finished work on a $7.6 million substation upgrade and new power line project in Amarillo, Texas.

The Farmers Substation, located southeast of the intersection of South Georgia Street at Farmers Avenue in Amarillo, involved the addition of a new substation transformer and three new feeder lines to serve customer growth at the Amarillo EDC’s South Georgia Business Park and beyond.

“The project not only provides the needed capacity to serve new customers but also helps improve the reliability of the distribution network in south Amarillo by providing more options to reroute power in the event of an outage,” Adrian Rodriguez, president, Xcel Energy – Texas, said.

The Farmers Substation upgrade is one of several investments in the Amarillo and Canyon area designed to improve reliability. Other projects include the recently completed Echo Substation near the intersection of East Hastings Avenue and Echo Street. Also, in 2022, Xcel Energy completed Centerport Substation near the new Amazon facility on Northeast 24th Avenue and rebuilt the Lawrence Park Substation near Southwest 26th Avenue and Georgia Street. In addition, in southwest Amarillo, Xcel completed the Preston West Substation and associated distribution lines southeast of the intersection of Coulter Street and Loop 335.

Kevin Carter, president and CEO of the Amarillo Economic Development Corp., said the recent power system investments coincided with development plans for several new and expanded businesses that benefitted from the Amarillo EDC’s incentive programs. In the South Georgia Business Park alone, the Amarillo EDC has attracted $200 million in capital investments responsible for 350 new jobs at the new Austin Hose, Cacique Cheese and Caviness Beef facilities. The Farmers Substation project ensures these and future businesses in the area will have the capacity they need to grow.

“Low electricity rates and high reliability are big draws for companies choosing to relocate or expand in Amarillo,” Carter said. “The investments Xcel Energy has made in substation and distribution infrastructure have been critical to our efforts to attract 3,000 new jobs and over $2 billion in capital investment over the past two years.”

Additional expansions and upgrades are planned for later this year and next year in Amarillo and outlying cities. They include a new Arnot Substation, planned east of Arnot Road between Interstate 40 and Hollywood Road and an Ashby Substation in eastern Dalhart.

Xcel Energy has invested more than $1 billion in the regional grid since 2021 to ensure a cleaner, more efficient power system for Xcel Energy’s Texas and New Mexico customers.