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An
expert on electrical transmission says a proposed high-voltage
transmission line between Duluth, Minn., and Wausau would not perform as
well as a line running through the Chippewa Valley.
The proposed Arrowhead power line originating in Duluth would connect with
several lower-voltage lines in Minnesota that would limit its performance,
engineer Larry Theile testified Monday before the Public Service
Commission.
Theile, whose 25-year background in electrical transmission includes 18
years with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, was hired by the
Citizens’ Utility Board, a consumer group advocating fair utility rates.
Theile said the Duluth route also would require manual operating
procedures that could be avoided with a route that would run from the Twin
Cities area to Wausau, passing through or near Eau Claire.
The Public Service Commission approved the Duluth-to-Wausau line two years
ago but reopened hearings on the proposed route after the anticipated
costs jumped from the original estimate of $165 million.
R.W. Beck, an engineering firm hired by the PSC to review cost projections
for the project, found the line between the Twin Cities and Wausau, called
the King-Weston route, would cost $384 million, compared with $411 million
for the Arrowhead route.
But Mark Williamson, vice president of American Transmission Co., the firm
that would build the line, said the Arrowhead route remains superior for
technical and geological reasons.
“We’ve been studying this for years from a variety of technical
perspectives, and we believe that this is the best choice,” Williamson
said. “We disagree with his technical evaluations.”
It would take five years’ worth of engineering work to determine whether
the King-to-Wausau route was even feasible, he said. Obstacles would
include getting across the St. Croix River which would require
authorization from the National Park Service and getting through the
developed area around Eau Claire.
“Given the critical need for the improvement, there’s not the luxury
of time to start over,” he said.
A route through Eau Claire also would not resolve the concern of keeping
the new high-voltage line distant from an existing line that runs through
Eau Claire so one storm wouldn’t knock out both lines, he said.
However, Theile said the proposed line from the Twin Cities to Wausau
would run about 15 miles north of the existing power line, the same
distance separating parallel high-voltage lines in southeastern Wisconsin.
Steve Hinicker, executive director of CUB, said the King-Weston route near
Eau Claire would have fewer environmental and landowner impacts, would
save at least $100 million and would be 60 miles shorter, making it less
susceptible to storm damage.
Knight can be reached at 830-5835, (800) 236-7077 or joe.knight@ecpc.com.
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