This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office, Award Number DE-GD0000885.
Community Partnership Team (CPT)
As part of this Project, BEC will form a CPT made up of stakeholders in the local communities that will be affected by their wildfire mitigation project. The CPT will advise BEC throughout the project, participating in virtual and in-person meetings and providing feedback to ensure that community interests are incorporated into the project. CPT members will also have the opportunity to raise any concerns about the plan's impact and identify other potential grid-related wildfire threats.
Grid Update Plan
(Coming soon)
Kickoff Meeting Agenda
- 2:00pm on December 18 at the Spearfish Outpost
- CPT members will be selected in the near future, sometime after the kickoff meeting
- See the proposed meeting agenda in the table below
| Meeting Agenda | Description |
| Welcome/Introduction | Information sharing |
| Purpose of Meeting | Briefly describe the meeting objectives, and Community Benefits Plan overview and objectives |
| Overview of the Proposed Project | WARN Project overview. Co-op-specific project overview |
| Impact on the System Resilience | Describe the improvements in the system and the impact of the outage |
| Year 1 tasks outline and time frame | Describe Year 1 tasks including project plans for Years 2 and 3 |
| Feedback | To be solicited at kickoff meeting |
Consortium Member Information
BEC provides safe, reliable, and affordable energy and services that improve the quality of life for our members and their communities. Founded in 1940, BEC serves more than 5,700 members in Western South Dakota, in Butte, Lawrence, and Meade Counties. BEC’s peak demand is 31.5 MW, with 1,413 miles of energized power lines, and 24 employees.
BEC is a member of a consortium of 38 electric co-ops and other rural utilities selected to receive federal funding through the Wildfire Assessment and Resilience for Networks project, or “WARN.”
Butte Electric Cooperative is a member of a consortium of 38 electric co-ops and other rural utilities selected to receive federal funding through the Wildfire Assessment and Resilience for Networks project or WARN. WARN projects will modernize and strengthen our nation’s electric grid, protecting customers’ access to electricity during wildfires and mitigating the risk of wildfires due to our nation’s aging transmission and distribution infrastructure.
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office, Award Number DE-GD0000885.
Project Description
BEC has proposed to replace overhead powerlines with underground lines. This project will eliminate wildfire risks inherent for overhead power line conductor and overhead recloser operations. The estimated project cost including ditching, labor, and materials is around $4.4 million dollars.
Benefits
Undergrounding powerlines makes the electric system safer, stronger, more reliable, and more affordable. This project will prevent wildfires caused by powerlines or equipment. It also significantly hardens the system to protect it from wildfire caused by natural or human factors in this area.
Communities and Consumers Impacted
Worksites are located in rural areas of Butte, Lawrence, and Meade Counties of South Dakota (as shown on the maps below). The project would underground 22 miles of line to reduce the risk of wildfire.
Per the 2020 United States Census, the approximate work area population is 1,661. The area includes picturesque, forested areas in the northern portion of the Black Hills, portions of the beautiful tree-covered foothills of the Black Hills, and the open majestic prairie. These areas consist of rural roads and residences, farming and ranching operations, and recreational areas within BEC's service territory.
Community Benefits Plan
(Coming soon)
Timeline
The project will take approximately 2 to 3 years, with construction broken up into four stages to be completed in the months of April through November in consecutive years.
- Design: 3-6 months
- Permitting: Overhead easements will be replaced with underground easements.
- Construction: April – November 2026-2027. Undergrounding a distribution line along the road will require some level of traffic control, and the operation of large excavation equipment along with maneuvering large reels of primary cable. Some disruption to traffic flow is inevitable.
- Operation: Moving overhead electrical systems to underground includes converting overhead services to underground services requiring contractors that specialize in these types of projects and the utilities’ linemen and operations personnel to complete the projects.
Contact for More Information
Additional questions should be directed to:
Butte Electric Cooperative, Inc.
ATTN: GRIP 1 WARN Project
605-456-2494
butte@butteelectric.com
Project Maps
FIGURE 1: Auer Road Project (5.2 miles of power line), 3 miles north of Deadwood in Lawrence County
FIGURE 2: Erickson Road Project (4.3 miles of power line), 6 miles southwest of Sturgis in Lawrence County
FIGURE 3: 127th Avenue Project (2 miles of power line), 3 miles north of Sturgis, Meade County
FIGURE 4: Whitewood 100 Circle Project (2.1 miles of power line), 4 miles north of Sturgis, Meade County
FIGURE 5a: Newell 100(A) Project (2.4 miles of power line), 2.5 miles southeast of Newell, Butte County
FIGURE 5b: Newell 100(B) Project (1.1 miles of power line), 2.5 miles southeast of Newell, Butte County
Figure 6: Homestake Road Project (7.0 miles of power line), 1.5 miles west of Spearfish, Lawrence County