An opinion piece by Mark Williamson, vice president, Major Projects

Most youngsters believe food comes from a grocery store, water comes from a faucet and electricity comes from a light switch or outlet. While most adults know better, modern society allows our basic needs to be met without actually seeing or knowing their origin. If we turn back the clock about a hundred years, people were very aware of how their basic needs were met. Their homes were heated by burning coal or logs, food was grown in the back yard and water was pumped from the ground. One sociology expert has noted, “When people get too far removed from the sources of their power, water or food, they’re far less likely to sacrifice to preserve them.”

Enter the concept of NIMBY, an acronym for Not In My Back Yard. The term is usually associated with projects designed to serve the public good: cellular towers, landfills, power plants, major highways and power lines. The NIMBY mentality is generally characterized by agreement that a certain idea or project itself is good and necessary, just as long as it isn’t too close to my property.

American Transmission Co. is responsible for operating and maintaining Wisconsin’s electric transmission system – the electrical super highways that move large amounts of electricity throughout the state. The system carries essential supplies of electricity to businesses, industry and citizens and is part of the critical infrastructure that supports our economy.

Despite this enormous benefit, we frequently deal with NIMBY attitudes as we identify potential routes for much-needed electric transmission lines, such as the one proposed in Waunakee. Never mind that the new line would supply the juice for essential household appliances and beloved gadgets.

The NIMBY mentality is alive and well as we work with property owners in Waunakee and elsewhere who are impacted by our projects. Our attempts to build support for the greater good and general welfare are often met with resistance. Interestingly, the biggest resistance to new power lines sometimes comes from folks who, ironically, have in their back yards some of the very culprits that contribute to the need for new lines: hot tubs, central air conditioning units, self-defrosting refrigerators, and multiple televisions, sound systems and computers.

Powering these necessary devices of comfort and entertainment in larger homes takes a tremendous amount of electricity, using transmission poles and wires that are undoubtedly located in someone’s backyard, somewhere. Remember, if you use electricity, someone somewhere has a pole in their backyard for your benefit.

So where does that leave us? Deciding where to locate transmission lines is a difficult and challenging process. We take seriously our responsibility and obligation to ensure the reliable performance of the electric transmission system.

The decisions we make about the construction and location of electrical facilities are made responsibly after considering a number of factors including the input we receive from communities, need and benefit, regulatory guidance, environmental impacts, availability of existing corridors, location of homes and schools, cost, and public acceptance.

We know that our projects impact people, communities and households. We know the appearance of power lines and towers are unpopular among many people. And we know that landowners who sign easement agreements with us understand the bigger picture and are making a personal sacrifice for the greater good.

Bottom line: We have an obligation as a public utility to build new transmission lines to support Wisconsin’s economic growth, help prevent blackouts and continue to supply the reliable electric service from which we all benefit. These benefits extend to the residents of Waunakee’s Savannah Village, some of whom oppose the transmission line route we’re recommending.

NIMBY is not a legitimate reason for us to look elsewhere to locate a power line, particularly when the alternatives suggested to us by Savannah Village resident Robin Stearns and others would require us to place a line in someone else’s backyard, at a higher cost. If we allowed NIMBY to stymie transmission projects or eliminate potential routes, we’d never build a power line anywhere. Clearly, that’s not acceptable – or even possible.

What is possible, and necessary, is to understand and appreciate as a society what decisions we all need to make to continue to benefit from electricity. Are the decisions easy ones? Absolutely not. Is it necessary to make the tough decisions about power lines? Absolutely, because we all depend on electricity in our homes, workplaces, schools…and even in our backyards.