Major projects update

Cardinal-Hickory Creek

ATC, ITC Midwest and Dairyland Power Cooperative filed an application in April 2018 with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin for the Cardinal-Hickory Creek Transmission Line Project — a 102- to 120‑mile, 345‑kV transmission line connecting Dubuque County, Iowa, to Dane County, Wis. The Wisconsin PSC approved the project in August 2019 and one month later issued a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, selecting the route for the Wisconsin portion of the project.

The Cardinal-Hickory Creek project is one of 17 multi-value projects approved by MISO in 2011. Studies conducted initially and since that time indicate that the project will deliver benefits to local communities and the Midwest region by:

Connecting the electric transmission system in the Upper Midwest and enabling up to 30 gigawatts of cost‑effective, renewable energy to be delivered across the region,
Providing $23 million to $350 million in net economic benefits to Wisconsin customers, and
Improving local and regional electric system reliability.

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

Battery Storage Project

ATC has submitted a project to MISO for inclusion in MTEP19 to install a total of 2.5 MW / 5 MWh of lithium ion batteries at the Harrison North substation in the Waupaca, Wis., area at a cost of approximately $8 million. The project consists of the installation of:

14 Mvar of total capacitance at the Arnott and Harrison North substation,
A bus upgrade at the 69-kV Wautoma substation, and
5 MW / 5 MWh battery at Harrison North Substation (and associated substation work).

The batteries will be installed on the transmission system to help address multiple transmission line outage issues and to provide additional operational flexibility. As proposed, the project is estimated to be in service in 2021.

ATC is also working with a market agent to explore using the battery to provide market services, with the intention of using market revenues to offset the transmission costs associated with this project.

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.

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 that existed 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.

Mount Pleasant Tech Interconnection

Construction is underway on the $117 million Mount Pleasant Tech Interconnection Project, which was approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in July 2018. This project is needed to support Foxconn’s advanced manufacturing campus and the development of the “Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park.” Project components include:

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.

The project has an expected in‑service date of December 2019.

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.

Bayport – Pioneer and Pioneer – Crivitz

The rebuild of a 69‑kV transmission line in northeastern Wisconsin, along with associated substation work, was submitted to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin 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:

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

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

As part of ATC’s analysis of the area, it was determined that the area north of the Bayport-Pioneer corridor, the Pioneer-Crivitz 69-kV lines, were due for asset renewal. ATC performed a thorough analysis and determined that these two 69-kV lines can be retired and the load served moved to the 138-kV system, saving ratepayers more than $20 million. This project will be completed in late 2022.

Juneautown Interconnection

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

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.

A Certificate of Authority application 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 project is scheduled to be in service in September 2020.

Northern Lights Interconnection

The Northern Lights Interconnection Project is a 138‑kV transmission to distribution interconnection needed to reliably serve Epic System’s electric needs into the future.

The cost of the project is estimated to be $21 million and includes:

a new Northern Lights 138 / 24.9‑kV substation,
looping the Cross Country to Pleasant View 138-kV line
constructing 1.3-mile double-circuit 138-kV Underground line to the new substation, and
installing fiber communication between Verona and the City of Madison.

An application was filed with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in October 2018 and was approved in June 2019. Construction is scheduled to begin in November 2019. The project is scheduled to be in service in June 2021.