News
A Failing Grade for Energy Infrastructure Hurts U.S. Competitiveness
The nation got a wakeup call recently when the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its Report Card for America's infrastructure. Listed among the failing grades for roads, bridges and ports, was a grim evaluation of our energy infrastructure.
Giving it a grade of D+, the Report Card detailed the need for investment throughout the nation’s electricity system, but focused primarily on the aging electric grid. The nation’s power grid, which consists of a system of interconnected power plants, transmission and distribution facilities, some of which date back to the 1880s, is in dire need of repair.
DNR honors ITC Holdings Corp. with Partners in Conservation Award
The Department of Natural Resources presented ITC Holdings Corp. of Novi, Mich., with a Partners in Conservation Award at last week's regular monthly meeting of the Natural Resources Commission in Saginaw.
The nation's largest independent electricity transmission company, ITC Holdings was recognized for its sponsorship of the restoration of the former Edsel Ford Haven Hill Estate, located within the Highland Recreation Area in Oakland County.
Since 2010, ITC has (through the DNR and Friends of Highland Recreation Area) donated $25,000 toward the restoration effort.
ITC Sponsors and Attends NRECA CEO Close-Up Conference
ITC will sponsor the Tuesday afternoon coffee break during the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s CEO Close-Up Conference at Marco Island, Florida January 13-16, 2013. As an independent, transmission-only company, ITC has successfully partnered with several G&T cooperatives on transmission projects and looks forward to speaking to others about the value ITC can bring to their organizations and customers.
ITC Great Plains Energizes Phase II of KETA Transmission Line
NOVI, Mich., December 13, 2012 – ITC Great Plains, LLC, in conjunction with Sunflower Electric Power Corp. and Midwest Energy, Inc., has placed Phase II of the KETA (Spearville-Axtell) high-voltage electric transmission project into service, marking completion of the project. The 227-mile, 345,000-volt line from Spearville, Kan., to Axtell, Neb., will improve the reliability and efficiency of the regional grid and make more affordable energy available. It entered service nearly six months ahead of the original schedule, enabling Kansans to realize the benefits of the project earlier than anticipated and at a cost well below the original estimate.
ITC Great Plains Celebrates Groundbreaking for Kansas V-Plan Transmission Line Project
MEDICINE LODGE, Kan., November 14, 2012 – ITC Great Plains, LLC today celebrated the beginning of construction of the V-Plan high-voltage transmission line project, the company’s second major transmission project in Kansas. At a groundbreaking ceremony near Medicine Lodge on the site of one of the project’s substations, ITC welcomed state and local officials, regional planning authorities, utility industry representatives and community leaders to mark the start of work on the 122-mile, 345,000 volt (345 kV) transmission line from Medicine Lodge to Spearville, Kan.
ITC Conducting Aerial Patrols of Transmission Lines in Michigan
NOVI, Mich. Oct. 3, 2012 – ITC is conducting aerial patrols of its high-voltage transmission towers and lines across the Lower Peninsula of Michigan during October and early November. The helicopter patrols are conducted to provide an overall status of the overhead transmission system that is operated by ITC’s Michigan operating entities, ITCTransmission and Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC (METC).
During the period October 4 to October 13, aerial inspections will be conducted in an area including south-central, southwestern and western Michigan, north to the Ludington/M10 area.
These twice-a-year patrols are a NERC (North American Electrical Reliability Corporation) requirement for ITC’s operations, maintenance and vegetation management functions and is in line with ITC’s model for operational excellence. They include inspections of steel towers, wood poles, conductors (wires), insulators and other equipment. Crews are checking for damaged or worn equipment and vegetation hazards.
Kristine Schmidt to Join ITC Holdings Corp. as Vice President, ITC Holdings Corp. and President, ITC Great Plains
NOVI, Mich. Sept. 10, 2012 – ITC Holdings Corp. (ITC) today announced that Kristine Schmidt will join the company on Sept 24 as vice president, ITC Holdings Corp., and president of ITC Great Plains.
In this role, Schmidt will serve as the business unit head for ITC Great Plains and will be responsible for supporting the company’s development efforts in the Great Plains region. She will be based at the Great Plains regional office in Topeka, Kansas.
“Kristine Schmidt brings more than 25 years of experience in the energy industry,” said Linda Blair, executive vice president and chief business officer for ITC Holdings Corp. “Her expertise in transmission and energy policies and strategic planning will be an asset to the ITC Great Plains organization as it continues to grow.”
Schmidt joins ITC from ESPY Energy Solutions, LLC, a Virginia-based energy consulting firm that she co-founded in 2009. In that role, she worked closely with energy clients to identify emerging opportunities and develop unique corporate and business development strategies. Prior to her role at ESPY, Schmidt served as director, transmission business development at Xcel Energy where she developed business plans to support new transmission expansion projects. Schmidt also previously served as technical advisor to former FERC Commissioner, Nora Brownell.
Schmidt holds a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University, a Master of Business Administration from University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Arts from University of Wisconsin.
About ITC Holdings Corp.
ITC Holdings Corp. (NYSE: ITC) is the nation’s largest independent electric transmission company. Based in Novi, Michigan, ITC invests in the electric transmission grid to improve reliability, expand access to markets, lower the overall cost of delivered energy and allow new generating resources to interconnect to its transmission systems. ITC’s regulated operating subsidiaries include ITCTransmission, Michigan Electric Transmission Company, ITC Midwest and ITC Great Plains. Through these subsidiaries, ITC owns and operates high-voltage transmission facilities in Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas, serving a combined peak load exceeding 26,000 megawatts along approximately 15,000 circuit miles of transmission line. Through ITC Grid Development and its subsidiaries, the company also focuses on expansion in areas where significant transmission system improvements are needed. For more information, please visit ITC’s website at www.itc-holdings.com. (itc-ITC)
About ITC Great Plains
ITC Great Plains, LLC is a transmission-only utility which seeks to build a more robust electric transmission system providing access to reliable, non-discriminatory, competitive and low-cost energy throughout the Southwest Power Pool region. Based in Topeka, Kansas, ITC Great Plains holds transmission-only utility status in Kansas and Oklahoma, with authority to construct, own, operate and maintain a regulated, high-voltage transmission system. ITC Great Plains is a subsidiary of ITC Grid Development, LLC, awholly-owned subsidiary of ITC Holdings Corp., the nation’s largest independent electric transmission company. For more information, please visit http://www.itctransco.com.
Media Contact: Joe Kirik (248.946.3478, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) Investor/Analyst contact: Gretchen Holloway, 248-946-3595; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ITC Crews Assisting With East Coast Storm Restoration
ITC Holdings Corp. operating subsidiaries ITCTransmission, Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC) and ITC Midwest have sent 63 utility crew members to assist in restoring power to customers affected by the recent storms on the East Coast.
ITCTransmission Celebrates Start of Construction of Thumb Loop High-Voltage Transmission Line
ITCTransmission, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC Holdings Corp., the nation’s largest independent electricity transmission company, today celebrated the start of construction of its 140-mile Thumb Loop high-voltage transmission line with an event aimed at recognizing the cooperative efforts of contractors, vendors, local officials and community leaders in Michigan’s Thumb area to advance the project.
ITC hosted the celebration outside its new Bauer substation at the western end of the 345,000-volt line in Tuscola County. Bauer is one of four new substations being built for the project. Construction is just getting underway on the first transmission line segment, a 62-mile segment from Bauer to the new Rapson substation site in Huron County, east of Bad Axe. The Tuscola County section will cover approximately 25 miles.
ITC Supports Dexter Area Fire Department
The Dexter Area Fire Department announced today that ITC Holdings Corp. (ITC) is stepping up to contribute $10,000 to help them purchase a thermal imaging camera.
“We are extremely grateful for ITC’s generous donation,” said Loren Yates, chief of the Dexter Area Fire Department. “A Thermal Imaging Camera is an extraordinary piece of safety equipment and will help us further our efforts to protect our citizens and our personnel responding to their needs. On behalf of the department, I want to extend our sincere thanks to ITC.”