The newly expanded State Line Power Plant near Joplin, MO got a boost to its service last week, as a unit of Williams began natural gas transportation service on Friday to the plant. Williams recently completed a $19.7 million expansion of its Central pipeline system, adding 37 miles of 20-inch pipeline and an increased pressure rating of 16-inch line to nearby Oklahoma.

The project gives Williams the ability to raise existing firm transportation capacity to the power plant by 55,000 Dth/d, for a total of 83,800 Dth/d for the next 15 years. The increased natural gas volumes accommodate the recent expansion of the State Line Plant, which now has generating capacity of 500 MW.

Operated and part-owned by Empire District Electric Co., State Line Power Plant is an investor-owned utility that supplies service to about 150,000 customers in southwest Missouri, southeast Kansas, northeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas. Westar Generating Inc., a joint owner of the facility, plans to sell power from the plant to its parent company, Western Resources, which provides electricity to 636,000 customers in Kansas.

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