ATC

American Transmission Co. announces two new appointments to board of directors

Suzanne Allen, president of Allen CFO Services LLC, and Scott Mair, president – AT&T Network Engineering & Operations, have been appointed to American Transmission Co.’s board of directors, effective Sept. 1, 2021.

Allen and Mair’s appointments expand ATC’s board to 11 members. Allen will serve on the board’s audit and finance committees, and Mair will serve on the audit and compensation committees.

“We are delighted to welcome Scott and Sue to the ATC board of directors,” said ATC President, CEO and Chairman of the Board Mike Rowe. “Sue brings valuable financial experience in the utility, information technology and manufacturing industries. Scott brings substantial business and technology leadership experience in the telecommunications industry.”

Suzanne Allen, of Duluth, Minn., is president of Allen CFO Services, a consulting company that brings the power of financial tools to companies that may not yet be in a position to hire a full time chief financial officer but can benefit from the high skill assistance of a CFO.

Allen formerly served as CFO at Unity Holdings Inc., based in Fargo, N.D., and Compudyne Inc., an information technology company based in Duluth, Minn. Previously, she was vice president and treasurer of Otter Tail Corporation, also in Minnesota. She has held treasurer roles with Rural Cellular Corporation and Nash Finch Company.

Allen holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Minnesota – Duluth and a Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas.

Scott Mair, of Frisco, Texas, is president – AT&T Network Engineering & Operations, where he oversees AT&T’s next-generation wireless and wireline networks, including planning, engineering, construction and operations. He also leads AT&T Labs Research, the company’s intellectual property organization and network operational support, which includes AT&T’s central offices and data centers, energy optimization, network automation and infrastructure provisioning.

Prior to his current role, Mair served as president – AT&T operations and senior vice president – technology planning and engineering. Mair began his career with Wisconsin Bell. From 1985 to 2001, he held several positions with Wisconsin Bell and Ameritech serving on teams such as NP&E, corporate planning and operations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in industrial technology, both from the University of Wisconsin–Platteville.

Cardinal-Hickory Creek co-owners file joint statement to PSCW to rescind and reopen project’s CPCN

JOINT STATEMENT

Utilities file request with Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to rescind and reopen Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for Cardinal-Hickory Creek Transmission Line Project

ATC and ITC Midwest on June 28 filed a request with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) asking the PSCW to rescind and reopen the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) for the Cardinal-Hickory Creek Transmission Line Project. Dairyland Power Cooperative has also filed its support for the request.

ATC and ITC Midwest discovered information last week that indicates former Commissioner Mike Huebsch engaged in regular communications over several years using the Signal software application with other individuals, including an ATC employee and a former independent contractor for ITC and while the CPCN application was pending. While we have no information that these Signal communications were related to the Cardinal-Hickory Creek Project or the CPCN docket, the utilities are making this request to rescind and reopen the docket.

ATC and ITC Midwest are regulated utilities engaged in building critical public infrastructure projects and reliably transmitting electricity. Like the public at large, we have a shared interest in preserving transparency, fairness and integrity of all regulatory and judicial proceedings.

“The individuals involved in this situation have maintained longstanding personal relationships with each other; however, we are aware this information raises concerns about one of the Commissioners who granted approval of the Cardinal-Hickory Creek Project,” said ATC President and CEO, Mike Rowe. “We understand the speculation this presents, which is also why we have made this unique request to the PSCW and are sharing this information with our employees, our stakeholders and Dane County Circuit Court.”

“The co-owners are committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in all of our work, including proceedings before the PSCW,” said ITC Midwest President, Dusky Terry. “We are asking the PSCW to rescind and reopen the Cardinal-Hickory Creek docket because we are committed to integrity and transparency in the regulatory process.”

This issue came to light during legal discovery in the ongoing Dane County Circuit Court proceeding regarding the Cardinal-Hickory Creek project. We are working to retrieve these communications but given the encrypted nature of the Signal application and its retention settings, we are presently uncertain whether these messages can be fully recovered.

The Cardinal-Hickory Creek Transmission Line Project is a 102-mile, 345,000-volt electric transmission line that will provide a vital link to the future of our region’s renewable energy developments. This transmission line is critical to ensuring a cleaner, safer and more affordable energy future for the state. Its construction and operability will reduce energy costs, improve the reliability and flexibility of the state’s transmission system, and help support the interconnection of renewable generation in the Upper Midwest. Currently, nearly 10 gigawatts of renewable generation are dependent upon its construction – enough to power seven million homes with clean energy.

ATC accepting applications for community planting and pollinator habitat programs

PEWAUKEE, Wis. – Today through Sept. 30, 2021, American Transmission Co. is accepting applications for planting projects in communities in our service area through the annual Community Planting and Pollinator Habitat grant programs.

“These programs enable us to encourage and support communities to plant trees and vegetation that will beautify communities in a way that doesn’t compromise the safety and reliability of the electric transmission system,” said ATC Vegetation Management Manager, Michelle Stokes. “While we can’t allow trees or tall‑growing vegetation in our rights‑of‑way, we understand that they are an important part of the landscape.”

The Community Planting Program provides financial support to eligible cities, villages, towns, counties and tribes in ATC’s service area for planting projects on public property. Program funds can be used to plant trees and other tall-growing vegetation outside the transmission line rights-of-way. ATC has awarded more than 265 communities with funds totaling nearly $500,000 since 2013.

The Pollinator Habitat Program provides funding for site preparation; purchasing seed, plugs or plants; labor and installation; or other activities to establish quality pollinator habitat. Unlike the Community Planting Program, the Pollinator Habitat Program promotes planting low-growing vegetation within a transmission line right-of-way.

“Loss of habitat is one of the main reasons for the recent decline in pollinator populations,” said ATC Environmental Project Manager, Johanna Sievewright. “The Pollinator Habitat Program promotes vegetation that is both compatible with our vegetation management practices and it provides habitat for pollinators, which use the utility corridor as a flight path.”

To qualify for either program, applicants must commit that all current and future planting plans and urban forestry activities near high-voltage electric transmission lines will comply with ATC’s maintenance standards. Cities, villages, towns, counties and tribes within ATC’s service area are eligible to apply for funding through the Community Planting Program. The Pollinator Habitat Program also is open to cities, villages, towns, counties and tribes within ATC’s service area, as well as to entities that allow public access to ATC rights-of-way (e.g. nature preserves, non-profit organizations or public land managers).

Applications for the Community Planting Program and Pollinator Habitat Program will be accepted through Sept. 30, and award recipients will be selected and notified by the end of the calendar year. Awards for both programs range from $100 to $5,000. Additional information and online program applications can be found at atc-GrowSmart.com.

Hiawatha National Forest and American Transmission Co. develop first-of-its-kind operating plan agreement

GLADSTONE, Mich., and PEWAUKEE, Wis. – The Hiawatha National Forest and American Transmission Co. have developed a first-of-its-kind operating plan between a utility and national forest since the United States Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A) Forest Service adopted a new rule to prevent power lines from sparking wildfires on public land. The plan will protect public lands and improve the safety and reliability of the transmission system while also providing significant long-term cost savings for the public, the company, and the agency. ATC’s cost savings will ultimately be passed down to electric consumers through their local utility.

“The Forest Service has a responsibility to protect and care for Hiawatha National Forest. We also understand how critical electricity is for people in the Upper Peninsula,” said Emily Platt, Acting Hiawatha Forest Supervisor. “That’s why creating an efficient, effective operating plan was so important. We appreciate that ATC cared as much about helping to protect the forest as they do about maintaining a safe and reliable electric grid.”

Across the nation, the U.S.D.A. Forest Service works with utility companies to manage permits for corridors crossing public lands–a significant duty for the agency and the utility companies. ATC operates approximately 95 miles of electric transmission line corridor within the Hiawatha National Forest’s 895,000 acres (about the size of Rhode Island). The new operating plan enables the Hiawatha and ATC to uphold environmental responsibilities more efficiently and effectively, while further reducing the risk of wildfires.

Updating the existing operating plan required an environmental assessment as a part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The assessment was reviewed by several interagency partners, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and others.

Clear expectations save time, add predictability
The new operating plan establishes clear expectations and coordination procedures for the next 30 years, defining the construction, maintenance and vegetation management activities ATC may perform; providing guidance and clarity for activities performed in sensitive areas and establishing a new communication framework between ATC and the Hiawatha.

“The Hiawatha National Forest staff has the enormous responsibility of managing nearly one million acres of protected forest and is understandably cautious about any work conducted within it,” said Jared Winters, director of ATC asset maintenance and commissioning. “At the same time, ATC has a duty and responsibility to ensure safe and reliable electric service to the homes and businesses that count on it every day.”

A critical component of the innovative operating plan is a time-saving geographic information system (GIS)-based communication process. The detailed GIS structure:

• Guarantees the exchange of key information relevant to all of ATC’s annual work in the Hiawatha utility corridor, simplifying implementation of most routine maintenance.
• Identifies sensitive areas within the utility corridor; the company will establish operations and maintenance design criteria, with the agency assuming a post-hoc review role. Under this new structure, ATC will prepare a year-end report so that the effectiveness of design criteria can be reviewed and refined on an on-going basis.
• Establishes clear reporting and response dates, which help ensure electricity is delivered to customers safely and reliably.

Together, the components of the operating plan protect natural resources while simplifying interactions and eliminating unnecessary maintenance delays.

“We hope to use this streamlined operating framework as a model for other utility permits we manage here on the Hiawatha,” said Platt.

A new solution drives cooperation
Dense vegetation, rough terrain, protected species restrictions and a lack of accessibility are just some of the challenges in maintaining the rights-of-way in the Forest. In 2019, ATC approached the Forest Service with another solution–one that hadn’t been used in the Hiawatha before–using an aerial power saw suspended from a helicopter to side trim vegetation. Discussions about the use of aerial saws contributed to the cooperative approach between ATC and Forest staff to update the operating plan.

Wide transmission corridors reduce fire risk
Vegetation that grows too close to high-voltage transmission wires can cause a dangerous situation. Electricity can arc from the wires to a tree branch, igniting a fire or causing an outage. Dense, incompatible vegetation in the transmission line rights-of-way also can hinder access for crews and equipment needed to inspect, maintain, and make repairs to the poles and wires.

While the Hiawatha is not the most fire-prone of the 155 Forest Service units, it is still susceptible to fire. The new operating plan gives ATC the ability to clear rights-of-way to a width of 120 feet. ATC also will follow the same brush disposal methods that the Forest does, which help further reduce fire risk.

An added benefit of clearing the transmission corridors is that it promotes the growth of native grasses, low-growing shrubs and other native ground cover that bees, birds, butterflies, deer, and small animals prefer. Roughly 40% of the 10,000 miles of rights-of-way ATC manages has already been identified as suitable pollinator habitat.

Hiawatha National Forest is one of three National Forests within ATC’s service territory; others include the 1.5 million-acre Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin and the  990,000-acre Ottawa National Forest in the western section of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Helicopter to be used to install bird diverters along transmission lines in Columbia, Dane, Sauk, Waupaca and Waushara counties

Work slated for first week of March

PEWAUKEE, Wis. – Beginning the week of March 1, American Transmission Co. will install more than 1,800 bird diverters on the wires of five transmission lines in Columbia, Dane, Sauk, Waupaca and Waushara counties.

Using a light-duty helicopter from Winco Powerline Services, ATC’s construction partner M.J. Electric, LLC will install the bird diverters to help keep birds safe while also ensuring the reliability of the transmission system.

“The diverters increase visibility of the wires and help protect birds from contacting the transmission lines while in flight,” said Michael Warwick, ATC senior environmental project manager. “Most of the diverters will be installed over or adjacent to wetlands and bodies of water to help protect larger, heavy-bodied species that do not maneuver easily such as geese, swans, pelicans, cranes and other waterfowl.”

Local officials, along with local law enforcement, have been notified of the work. Diverters will be installed in the following locations:

• Columbia County along portions of a 138,000-volt line (east of Portage, Wis.)
  • Within a wetland area east of County Road F and west of County Road EE
  • Over a wetland northwest of the intersection of Military and Quarry Roads
  • Within the Becker Waterfowl Production Area near Highway 22
  • Across the Fox River, north of Pardeeville and west of State Highway 44
• Dane County along a portion of a 69,000-volt line
  • Near wetland areas running along a railroad track, starting at Dunkirk and Veterans Road and ending just past Collins Road outside of Stoughton, Wis.
• Sauk County along a portion of a 138,000-volt line (west of Portage, Wis.)
  • South of the Pine Island State Wildlife Area, running southwest from I-90 across County Roads U and T and ending north of Back Road
• Waupaca County along a portion of a 69,000-volt line
  • Across Hartman Lake within Hartman Creek State Park
• Waushara County along a portion of a 69,000-volt line
  • Across the Pine River north of County Road A in Wild Rose, Wis.

Note to editors: View maps of the work area: Columbia and Sauk Counties Dane County Waupaca and Waushara Counties. Information about ATC’s avian protection program can be found here. Helicopter flight schedules may vary and are subject to change, based on weather. In the interest of safety, please refrain from stopping, viewing and photographing the work from roadways.