Utility completes $24M transmission project in New Mexico

ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — Xcel Energy says it has completed a $24 million transmission project that will boost the capacity and reliability of the system that powers one eastern New Mexico city. Utility officials say the Roswell project is part of a larger, region-wide effort to expand and modernize Xcel's grid, which serves nearly 100 communities in eastern New Mexico and West Texas. Crews closed the final segment last week of a nearly 24-mile transmission loop that feeds the city's electric substations. Since 2011, Xcel Energy has invested in more than 800 miles of new transmission lines and nearly a dozen substations across its service area in the two states. More than 500 miles of additional line will be completed by 2021. Officials say the transmission expansion represents more than $1.6 billion in investment.