Oncor Electric Delivery, the operator of most of North Texas' electric grid, has been chosen to build about $1.3 billion worth of transmission lines to connect West Texas' huge wind-power farms with users in the rest of the state.

Texas currently leads the nation with 8,005 megawatts of wind-generating capacity. Rising production from wind farms accounted for 4.9 percent of power consumed in the state last year, up from 2.9 percent in 2007, according to data from the Texas grid operator.

The Public Utility Commission assigned approximately $5 billion of transmission projects to be constructed in Texas' Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ), with about $1.3 Billion going to Dallas-based Oncor.

Oncor senior vice president Charles Jenkins said, "Oncor is now focused on building the section we were awarded on-time and on budget."

Jenkins added that Oncor is already working with vendors to ensure the availability of equipment and contractors to expedite the CREZ projects.

Soon, the company will start closing on the purchase of land for substations and begin detailed engineering of the priority lines.

Oncor is a regulated electric distribution and transmission business that uses superior asset management skills to provide reliable electricity delivery to consumers. Oncor operates the largest distribution and transmission system in Texas, providing power to three million electric delivery points over more than 102,000 miles of distribution and 14,000 miles of transmission lines.