Project Updates

The Public Service Commission will begin public and technical hearings on the Rockdale-West Middleton project later this month. The public hearings will be held March 24-25, 2009, 1 & 6:30 p.m. at the PSC office and the technical hearings will occur March 31 through April 3, 2009, 9 a.m. at the PSC office as well. The PSC decision deadline on the proposed 345-kV line through Dane County, is July 6.

We recently energized a rebuilt section of the Cranberry-Conover-Plains electric transmission line project in Vilas and Florence counties in Wisconsin and Iron County, Mich. The 30-mile stretch was built over the top of a We Energies distribution line, which remained energized during construction. The segment also involved crossing the Elvoy Creek bog in the Nicolet National Forest. The line runs from the Lakota Road Substation near Conover, Wis. to a new Iron Grove Substation near Iron River, Mich. Construction is now underway on the next segment of this project – a 27-mile line between the Iron Grove Substation and the Aspen Substation near Florence, Wis.

A rebuilt Crivitz-High Falls 69-kilovolt transmission line also was recently placed in service in Marinette County, Wis. The 13-mile line was about 100 years old. Crews continue to remove construction materials from the corridor and restoration of the corridor is underway.

Construction is well underway on the Jefferson County Electric Reliability project, with most of the current construction south of the city of Lake Mills, Wis. We Energies completed a large percent of underground construction of distribution lines for parts of the line and Lake Mills Light & Water is making progress constructing the new substation in Lake Mills. The substation is expected to be completed in June, and ATC will be ready to connect to the substation when it is completed.

We recently upgraded a segment of the Rock River – Elkhorn Conversion Project from 69,000 to 138,000 volts. The portion of the line that runs from the Bristol Substation on the northeast side of the city of Delavan, Wis. to the Elkhorn Substation is the first segment of the four-phased project to be upgraded. The next section that will be converted runs from the Bristol Substation to the West Darien Substation in the Village of Darien, Wis., and the entire conversion is expected to be completed by mid-summer.

More ice roads facilitate construction in northern Wisconsin

In our last issue, we described the use of ice roads in construction projects in wetland areas. Essentially, work crews remove snow from the corridor, then use equipment to drive frost deeper into the soil to create an ice road. The continued cold weather allowed us to use ice roads on several other projects recently, including efforts to replace two wooden structures in a very wet bog north of Rhinelander and on another pole-replacement project on an island near Stevens Point. Osprey nests were relocated in both projects, as well.

Ice roads helped facilitate the removal and replacement of wooden structures in a bog near Rhinelander earlier this year. The structures needed to be replaced because of damage caused by woodpeckers.

2008 annual report issued

Impact is the theme for our 2008 annual report. President and CEO José Delgado introduces the report with an overview of how we seek to make a positive impact on electric reliability, the environment and the communities where we work and serve. The report highlights our accomplishments in 2008 and describes our efforts to sustain the momentum of our impact.

Arrowhead-Weston benefits report published Another new document that features the benefits of the 220-mile Arrowhead-Weston project also was released. The report summarizes the reliability improvements realized by the new line and features some of the benefits to local communities that host our facilities. Other chapters are devoted to environmental protection and lessons that were learned and are being applied to our other projects.

Did you know?

The United States has surpassed Germany as the world’s largest wind power generator with 25,170 megawatts of installed capacity, according to the Global Wind Energy Council.  China saw its wind portfolio double last year. Overall, the world’s total wind capacity increased by nearly 30 percent in the last year.

Speaking of wind, the Wind on the Water task force established by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin released a report recently on the feasibility, economic potential and environmental impacts of wind generation facilities in the Great Lakes. As a result, commissioners agreed that ATC should include off-shore generation, possibly up to 500 megawatts, in future long-term plans. ATC’s Planning Director Flora Flygt served on the task force and noted the desirability of locating generating facilities near existing lines and load centers at Milwaukee and elsewhere in eastern Wisconsin. 

ATC in the community

ATC partnered with the UW Athletic Department to promote the “Quarters for Kids” event at the UW women's basketball game against Michigan State last month.  ATC donated 25 cents to the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County for each fan in attendance, for a grand total of $3,432.75! Sarah Justus, Manager, local relations, poses with Marcia Hendrickson, chief professional officer, Boys and Girls Club of Dane County, program students, and Bucky Badger. The girls won a contest at the club to come on the court as a reward for good behavior.

Invite an ATC representative to speak to your group

Let us tell you and your service group or professional organization more about ATC. Simply e-mail us at localrelations@atcllc.com and indicate a topic area you're interested in, such as new projects, environmental commitment, vegetation management, or electric transmission.  We'll work with you to schedule a speaker for an upcoming meeting.