Groups oppose power linesJan 15 - Thomas Content Milwaukee Journal SentinelGroups challenging construction of high-voltage power lines say slowing utility sales should make the state Public Service Commission rethink its decision to approve a high-voltage power line linking La Crosse and Rochester, Minn. The PSC approved the $500 million project in 2012, and utilities involved in it, including Xcel Energy and Dairyland Power Cooperative, began construction last year. Construction work so far has included power line work in Minnesota as well as an electricity substation near La Crosse that would be the end point of the line. "New information has become available that negates or defers the need for the line, and decreases the projected benefits and value of the line," said Carol Overland, a lawyer representing the Save Our Unique Lands and the Citizens Energy Task Force. "We ask the PSC to use its discretion to consider the impact of this information." The groups say the growth in power use that utilities forecast when they first proposed the project has not materialized, and that plans to expand power generation in the La Crosse area warrant another look. This is the latest in a series of appeals and petitions the groups have submitted, all of which have been rejected. A state Public Service Commission spokesman said the agency wouldn't comment before it considers the petition next month. The groups say the project was approved based on a projected growth of 1.5% in electricity demand through 2020, but that utility sales have declined or not kept pace with those forecasts since the approval. Under the current construction schedule, the La Crosse-Rochester line would be completed in 2015. Tim Carlsgaard, a project spokesman, said Xcel Energy's 2013 sales in Wisconsin rose 0.5% last year, including a 2.7% jump in the fourth quarter. Dairyland Power Cooperative spokeswoman Deb Mirasola said sales to co-ops -- its primary customers -- were up 0.4% from 2010-2012, but jumped 5% in 2013. A key need for the project is to meet demand for electricity when it peaks on hot summer days, and the transmission system that now serves western Wisconsin is strained during those times, Carlsgaard said. The system is capable of providing 430 megawatts of electricity, and demand in the area, thanks in part to sand mining operations, has exceeded that every year since 2008, Carlsgaard said. Dairyland's peak demand is also on the rise, said Mirasola. The groups countered in their petition that the Xcel decision to reopen a generator at its French Island power plant will help supply power during periods of peak demand. Even with the decision to repair a generator that burns fuel oil, that would only delay the point at which the local transmission system would be taxed. The $500 million line -- $211 million of which would be spent on the Wisconsin portion -- would expand the capability of the line to 750 megawatts, enough to last "a couple of decades," Carlsgaard said. Groups that questioned the need for the line to Minnesota are also raising concerns about the $514 million Badger Coulee line that would link this line with the Madison area. The groups say they were pleased when PSC recently told Xcel and Pewaukee-based American Transmission Co. to submit more information before it can review the plan. Twitter: twitter.com/plugged_in http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=31213442& |