Despite the continued legal battles over the proposed Arrowhead transmission line from Wausau to Duluth, Minn., a second company is proposing to expand electricity transmission in the state.
In fact, the American Transmission Co., of Pewaukee, is talking about a considerably larger transmission expansion, rolling out a 10-year plan estimated to cost roughly $3 billion. Among the additions is a line between Milwaukee and Madison and their growing suburbs, and a line from Wausau to Marquette, Mich., and possibly even a line under Lake Michigan from the state's western shore to Ludington, Mich.
Currently the state has just four lines connecting it to other states, and its lone line to Minnesota—an east-west line across the state, running through Eau Claire—is said to be one of the most capacity-constrained lines in the country. Should American's plans come to fruition and the Arrowhead line also get built—both are big ifs, given the political and legal difficulties of the Arrowhead line alone—the state would double its out-of-state transmission grid.
—Ronald A. Wirtz
