ATC proposes line for Wauwatosa, Milwaukee

From a blog post by Tom Content on JSonline:

American Transmission Co. plans to propose a new power line in Wauwatosa and a portion of the city of Milwaukee to help meet growing demand for electricity in the U.S. Highway 45 development corridor, the Pewaukee company said Wednesday.

The power line company has planned an informational open house on Thursday, Oct. 21, to provide area property owners and the public an opportunity to hear more about the proposal and offer input on the 138,000-volt power line.

The preliminary cost of the project is $21 million to $37 million. A final cost estimate will depend on the route that is selected for the line, said ATC spokeswoman Luella Dooley-Menet.

The roughly 2-mile transmission line would be needed to connect a new substation that We Energies plans to build next to its Milwaukee County substation and Milwaukee County power plant at 93rd Street and Watertown Plank Road.

We Energies’ planning studies indicate electric demand in the U.S Highway 45 corridor in western Milwaukee County is projected to double as soon as 2016-2018.

“Studies also indicate that existing distribution substations and feeders that serve the area will not be adequate to meet anticipated future electric demand,” said Andrew Gumm, We Energies manager of project siting.

During the next year, ATC will narrow the potential routes before filing an application to build the line with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in early 2012. If approved by the state Public Service Commission, construction of the new line would begin in 2014 and the line would be completed in 2015.

Posted in: Electricity transmission