A proposal for a conditional use permit for Westar Energy to expand the McDowell Creek electrical substation is on hold.

At the request of Rod Moyer, President of Moyer Ranch Inc., the Metropolitan Planning Commission has continued the request until their April meeting to allow negotiations to be completed. “The purported easement for facilities will be contested by the Moyer Ranch,and until the parties resolve this dispute it would be prudent for the Metropolitan Planning Commission to withhold their approval.”

Westar Energy engineer Katie Walbridge explained the need for the expansion, which would cover approximately 1.8 acres. She noted the northern portion of the existing substation includes 115 kilovolt equipment. “Back when we put in that equipment it had a much smaller footprint than updated equipment. So the main driver behind this is we need to update that old lattice structure, we need to put breakers, we need to update that equipment, and to do that we have to expand the sub.”

The expansion would bring the total substation site up to about six acres. One problem is that additional easement access interferes with an area where cattle are moved on the ranch.