Xcel completes $5.6M project to boost capacity near Hobbs

HOBBS, N.M. (AP) — Xcel Energy says it has completed a $5.6 million project to boost electric capacity in one stretch of southeastern New Mexico. The utility says the infrastructure improvements will help the agricultural areas north of Hobbs, where irrigation and dairy customers were experiencing voltage fluctuations due to their distance from the power source and the strain on existing substations in the area. Utility officials say residential and commercial customer growth in neighborhoods on the northern edge of the city also was bogging down the two existing substations on hot summer days. The project included the construction of a new substation, improved feeder lines and additional switches to help prevent overloads.