Project Updates

A new, 15-mile electric transmission line in Dodge County was placed in service in May. The 138-kilovolt will improve reliability for central Dodge County communities, including Beaver Dam, Hustisford and Horicon. Despite record snow fall this winter, construction was completed on time and within budget.

An upgraded 138-kilovolt power line between the Saukville Substation and the St. Lawrence Substation (near Slinger, Wis.,) was returned to service last month, completing a year-long project to replace wires and poles along the 19-mile line. The project was necessary to accommodate increased electricity output at the We Energies’ Port Washington Generating Station when the second of two new units goes on line.  The original line was nearly 60 years old, and the need for a heaver-weight wire to carry more electricity called for the construction of stronger structures. 

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has approved our proposed 35-mile Paddock-Rockdale line in south central Wisconsin. It is the first transmission line project within the footprint of the Midwest Independent System Operator to be driven by economics, although the line also will enhance reliability. The line, to be built largely on an existing right-of-way, will extend an existing connection into Illinois and allow local electric distribution companies access to lower-cost power produced in the region. The savings will be passed on to end-use electricity customers.

Follow project developments online at www.atc-projects.com

Cousins? Butler snake looks like Garter snake

As part of a series of events to celebrate Earth Day, employees in the Pewaukee office were visited by a herpetologist from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  Conservation Biologist Robert Hay was accompanied by snakes and a wood turtle. He showed how to differentiate an endangered Butler snake from an ordinary garter snake.  (It’s not easy for the untrained eye.)

Worm dance? Did you know?
Employees were delighted to learn a foraging technique used by the endangered wood turtle. The turtles use their legs and rock back and forth to tap the earth — simulating the sound of raindrops – to draw night crawlers to the surface.

Wood turtles are shy, and prefer habitat that includes clear streams and rivers near forests and woodland ponds. We take care when working on construction projects to protect that habitat. After construction, we seek to restore the corridor to provide appropriate habitat. In some locations along the Arrowhead-Weston line, we trucked sand in after construction to improve habitat. Photo courtesy of Jeff LeClere.

More on renewables

Renewable energy, and wind power in particular, is a hot topic within the industry and with policy makers.  More than half the states in the country have mandated significant increases in the amount of energy coming from renewable resources in the next 15 years. The electric transmission grid will play a key role in delivering that power. Read more in guest column by our planning director, Flora Flygt. 

ATC supports Conservation Day at the Zoo

Visitors help create an artful mural featuring a Wood Turtle at ATC's exhibit. Kids were also treated to an environmental temporary tatoo. ATC is a proud sponsor of Conservation Weekend at the Milwaukee County Zoo.