Major projects update

Badger Coulee

This fall, we expect to energize the 180‑mile, 345‑kV Badger Coulee transmission line, one of MISO’s 17 Multi-Value Projects designed to deliver significant benefits to electric consumers throughout the Upper Midwest. A portion of the project from the Cardinal Substation to the North Madison Substation was placed in service in fall 2017. Developed jointly with Xcel Energy, the line will:

offset the need for about $190 million in lower-voltage upgrades in western Wisconsin,
increase access to the wholesale energy market and provide between $118 million and $700 million in net economic benefits over the life of the line, and
establish another pathway for renewable energy into Wisconsin with a connection to key load centers.

Bay Lake

The Bay Lake Project is a package of proposals that address the delicate, shifting balance between generation, load and transmission in the northern portion of our service area.

The North Appleton‑Morgan project was placed in service in September 2018, ahead of schedule and under budget. It includes 345‑kV
and 138‑kV lines from our North Appleton Substation in Outagamie County to the Morgan Substation in Oconto County, Wis.
Both substations have been expanded and additional work was required at 11 other substations. A new substation, Benson Lake in Marinette County, was placed into service in July 2017. It includes a large voltage‑control device. North Appleton‑Morgan was approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in May 2015, with an authorized cost of $328 million.

Cardinal-Hickory Creek

ATC, ITC Midwest LLC and Dairyland Power Cooperative filed an application in April with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin for a 102- to 120‑mile, 345‑kV transmission line connecting Dubuque County, Iowa, to Dane County, Wis.

The Cardinal-Hickory Creek Project is another MISO Multi-Value Project. Studies indicate that it will deliver benefits to local communities and the Midwest region by:

improving electric system reliability locally and regionally,
delivering $23.5 million to $350.1 million in net economic benefits, and
connecting to other 345‑kV transmission lines in the Upper Midwest and helping to enable 25 gigawatts of cost‑effective renewable energy to be delivered to communities in the region.

If approved by Wisconsin and Iowa regulators, the project is estimated to be in service in 2023.

Spring Valley‑North Lake Geneva

Construction is underway on the $71 million Spring Valley-North Lake Geneva Project, which was approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in spring 2016. This project is needed to meet an increase in electric demand in Walworth and Kenosha counties in Wisconsin.

The project involves:

construction of a new 138-kV transmission line of approximately 23 miles, stretching from the North Lake Geneva Substation in southern Walworth County to the Spring Valley Substation in western Kenosha County,
construction of a new 138-kV and 69-kV substation on an ATC-owned parcel along Highway 50 in the Town of Wheatland
construction of a new 69-kV transmission line to connect the new substation to the existing Twin Lakes Substation in Twin Lakes, and
other power line modifications.

The project is expected to be placed into service in 2019.

Finger Road-Canal

The rebuild of a 69-kV line in northeastern Wisconsin, along with associated substation work, was approved by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission in spring 2017 at a cost of $60.7 million. About 55 miles of 1950s-vintage wood poles running between Finger Road Substation and Canal Substation will be rebuilt. The line serves seven distribution substations in northern Kewaunee County and Door County.

The project includes:

the replacement of 834 wood pole structures,
the replacement of line conductor and addition of a fiber optic shield wire, and
the replacement of some associated substation equipment.

Construction is scheduled to complete in January 2021.

Mount Pleasant Tech Interconnection

This project is designed to support Foxconn, which upon completion will be one of the largest manufacturing facilities in the nation with a campus build‑out anticipated to be approximately 22‑million square feet. The initial projected electric usage would be 200 megawatts at this manufacturing facility, with an additional 30 MW of expected economic growth in the surrounding area. The electric load required for Foxconn’s operations will be the largest connected to ATC’s transmission system at a single substation.

The project cost is estimated to be about $117 million and includes:

constructing a new 345‑/138‑kV Mount Pleasant Substation,
looping the Racine – Pleasant Prairie 345‑kV line into the new substation,
stringing a new Racine – Pleasant Prairie 345‑kV circuit in the vacant position on existing structures and looping this new circuit into the new substation,
reconfiguring the Racine Substation 345‑kV bus,
rerouting the Pleasant Prairie and Bain 345‑kV line,
uprating the Elm Road – Racine 345‑kV line, and
constructing four new 138‑kV underground lines (~400 feet) from the Mount Pleasant Substation to serve a customer‑owned substation.

ATC submitted the CPCN application in late January 2018 to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, which approved the project in July. Construction is underway. All electrical infrastructure has an expected in‑service date of late 2019.

Mackinac – McGulpin 138-kV Submarine Cable Replacement

ATC has plans to replace the two 4‑mile, 138‑kV submarine transmission lines connecting the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to lower Michigan at an estimated cost of $105 million.

The Mackinac – McGulpin 138‑kV submarine cable replacement project was submitted for MISO review in the MTEP18 planning cycle. The project was developed for the following reasons:

Two 138‑kV submarine circuits were damaged by an anchor strike on April 1, 2018.
Three working cables have been reconfigured to form one 138‑kV circuit.
The project will restore the eastern UP to the level of reliability it had before the April 1 event.
The integrity of the remaining cables is of concern.
The remaining cables contain a mineral‑oil based dielectric fluid; a submarine cable failure could result in a fluid leak into Lake Michigan and
Lake Huron.

As proposed, the project is estimated to be in service in 2021.

Bayport – Pioneer

The rebuild of a 69‑kV transmission line in northeastern Wisconsin, along with associated substation work, will be submitted to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission in spring 2019 at a cost of $51.7 million. Approximately 22 miles of line on 1910s‑vintage wood poles running between Bayport Substation and Pioneer Substation will be rebuilt. The line will serve three distribution substations in Brown County and Oconto County.

The Bayport‑Pioneer asset renewal project consists of the following:

rebuilding the line between Bayport and Pioneer substations with double‑circuit structures,
stringing both Bayport‑Pioneer lines, combine, and operate as one line at 138‑kV,
converting Suamico and Sobieski substations to 138‑kV operation, and
de‑energizing the Pulliam‑Bayport 69‑kV section of line.

The project is scheduled to be in service in December 2021.

Juneautown Interconnection

The Juneautown Interconnection Project is a 138‑kV distribution‑transmission interconnection needed to meet We Energies’ growing reliability and
economic needs.

The cost of the project is estimated to be $34.1 million and includes:

a new Juneautown 138 / 13.2‑kV gas‑insulated substation,
looping the 138‑kV line between Haymarket and Harbor substations to feed the new substation, and
routing the new line segments through new underground corridors.

An application for a Certificate of Authority was filed with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in January 2018 and was approved in August. Construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2019. The facilities are scheduled to be in service approximately 12 months after construction begins.