Wisconsin Reliability Assessment Organization Recommends New Transmission Line; New Line Would Connect Northeast Minnesota With Central Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE, July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wisconsin Reliability Assessment Organization has filed a detailed report with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin supporting construction of a 230-mile transmission line between Duluth, Minn., and Wausau, Wis. The proposed 345-kilovolt line would significantly enhance the reliability of the regional transmission system at a reasonable financial cost and environmental impact.

"This is undoubtedly the most comprehensive study of our regional transmission system that's been undertaken in some time," said Dale Landgren, assistant vice president of business planning at Wisconsin Electric and chairman of the WRAO. "Our decision to recommend construction of this particular transmission line is based on a range of environmental, financial and technical criteria. This transmission line will provide customers in the upper Midwest with greater electric system reliability in an economically and environmentally sound manner."

The WRAO, comprised of companies and cooperatives serving the electric utility needs of customers in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa and Illinois, was formed to coordinate the planning of generation and transmission facilities to ensure the reliability of Wisconsin's electric supply system. The group enlisted key stakeholders, including environmental and consumer advocates along with regulators from neighboring states, to provide input to the process of determining the best transmission alternative. The final recommendation, however, came from the utility company representatives.

The group initially narrowed its selection to seven transmission plans, each designed to reinforce the state's overall electric transmission system. The preferred line, known as the Arrowhead to Weston transmission line, was selected from these seven options by the WRAO based on a number of performance indicators, including transfer capability, voltage and dynamic stability, environmental impacts, cost and a number of other characteristics.

Wisconsin Public Service and Minnesota Power plan to file construction permit applications during the second half of this year. Depending on siting and regulatory outcomes, the transmission line could be in service by 2002.

WRAO stressed that improving reliability will require not only the Arrowhead-Weston line, but a number of other projects at 345kV and lower voltages that support the overall grid. Examples of these projects supported by WRAO are Wisconsin Electric's Oak Creek to Arcadian transmission project and the Northern States Power/Dairyland Power Chisago to Apple River transmission project.

Landgren described the result of the selection process as a "utility consensus recommendation." He added that Wisconsin PSC staff members also participated in the process in an ex-officio capacity. The WRAO asked that the report and accompanying recommendation serve as a basis for future discussion and action by the Commission.

The Wisconsin Reliability Assessment Organization is comprised of the following members: Alliant Energy, Dairyland Power Cooperative, Municipal Electric Utilities of Wisconsin, Madison Gas & Electric, Minnesota Power, Manitowoc Public Utilities, Northern States Power, Wisconsin Electric, Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives, Wisconsin Public Power Inc., Wisconsin Public Service and the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (ex officio).

WRAO Report on Transmission System Reinforcement in Wisconsin	File Size	Document
Letter of Transmittal to PSCW	22.8KB	PDF: 1 page
Report (without attachments)	256KB	PDF: 33 pages
Attachment A1 - WIREs Phase II Study Report	391KB	PDF: 79 pages
Attachment A2 - WIREs Phase II Study Report (AppendixB)	2,181KB	PDF: 100 pages
Attachment B - Environmental Review of Phase II WIRE Study for the WRAO	-	Web Page
Attachment C - Wisconsin's Electric Transmission Interconnection Capacity Requirements	120KB	PDF: 15 pages
Attachment D - White Paper on the Requirement for Geographic Diversity in Transmission Line Route Selection for System Reliability	5,910KB	PDF: 41 pages
Attachement E - Stakeholder Comments	188KB	PDF: 70 pages