Balancing Growth and Customer Interests

As energy use grows nationwide, more large-scale, high-energy-demand businesses, such as data centers, advanced manufacturing facilities, and agricultural processing operations, are seeking reliable, long-term electric service. Southern Pioneer, in coordination with our wholesale power supplier Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, are committed to serving these needs while protecting the interests of all customers across our service area.

Our Approach to Serving Large New Loads

· Obligation to serve | Any new home or business built within Southern Pioneer’s certified service is entitled to electric service. We are committed to serving all customers fairly, safely, and reliably.

· We serve businesses of all sizes | We work closely with commercial and industrial customers of varying scales. While we value transparency, our long-standing policy is to protect customer privacy by not publicly sharing specific customer or project information.

· Growing electricity demand nationwide | Demand for electricity continues to rise across the country prompting continued expansion of the electric grid to support this growth.

· Role of Southwest Power Pool (SPP) | SPP is a regional transmission organization responsible for ensuring the reliability of the electric grid in 14 states, including Kansas. To avoid grid reliability concerns, SPP directs Sunflower and other generation and transmission utilities how much power generation is needed and how much transmission infrastructure is required to meet the increasing demand for electricity.

· A fully interconnected grid | The electric grid operates as a highly interconnected network. Large energy users in other SPP states can affect our wholesale energy costs in Kansas due to the need for additional regional transmission capacity or upgrades.

· Local projects can help offset regional costs | When these large businesses are located in our service area, they can help offset those SPP-related cost increases.

· Cost responsibility for new infrastructure | If a new large-scale business requires additional generation capacity or local transmission or distribution infrastructure, that business is responsible for 100% of the interconnection and facility upgrade costs associated with serving its load.

· Strengthening rural communities | These new businesses contribute to stronger local economies by expanding employment, supporting development, and providing new revenue. Operating as a not-for-profit, any new revenue helps offset our cost to serve all customers and benefits them by helping to stabilize and maintain affordable electricity for our local communities.

To learn more about how large electric loads are evaluated, planned for, and integrated into the regional power system, visit Sunflower’s Large Load and Interconnection Guidelines webpage. As our wholesale power supplier, Sunflower works closely with Southern Pioneer to ensure new demand is served reliably, responsibly, and in a way that protects all customers.