ITC Holdings Corp. today announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend on ITC common stock of $0.3525 per share payable on June 15, 2012, to shareholders of record on June 4, 2012.

The DEQ today presented one of its highest environmental stewardship honors – the Clean Corporate Citizen Award – to ITC Holdings Corporation at the company’s Novi headquarters. ITC is the 174th Michigan facility to receive this honor.

The C3 Program is a voluntary environmental program that recognizes environmental stewardship at Michigan facilities. Candidates demonstrate facility-specific environmental management systems, have active pollution prevention initiatives at their facilities, and have a consistent record of compliance with state and federal environmental requirements.

Based in Novi, Michigan, ITC is the nation’s largest fully independent electric transmission company, providing the bulk transfer of electrical energy from generating plants to substations serving communities and businesses across the state. ITC owns and operates high-voltage transmission facilities in Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas along approximately 15,000 circuit miles of transmission line.

“We are pleased that our environmental management system enabled us to recover more than 5.7 million pounds of recycled metal and 284,000 gallons of oil across our operations in 2011 alone,” said Gregory Loanidis, president, ITC Michigan. “We are honored to receive this recognition from the State of Michigan, and we will continue to look for ways to reduce our impact on the environment while investing in the transmission grid to improve reliability, expand access to markets, lower the overall cost of delivered energy, and allow new generating resources to connect to our systems.”

The C3 Award joins a number of honors that ITC has received from national and local environmental and ecological organizations.

ITC Holdings Corporation earns DEQ Clean Corporate Citizen Award

ITC Holdings Corp. today announced that it has won the SF6 Team Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in recognition of its continued commitment to SF6 emission reductions. The EPA presented the award to ITC recently at the 2012 Workshop for SF6 Emission Reduction Strategies in Atlanta.

Since its founding in 2003, ITC's management, monitoring and reduction of SF6 emission has resulted in a significant decrease in SF6 gas emission rates from the company's facilities, including an impressive 52 percent reduction between 2005 and 2006 in the ITCTransmission footprint in Michigan.

SF6 gas is one of the referenced "greenhouse gases" by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). SF6 is used in the electric utility industry for insulation and current interruption in electric transmission and distribution equipment.

"We are pleased that our efforts to reduce SF6 emissions, through diligent transmission system maintenance and oversight, have produced these dramatic results," said Jon E. Jipping, executive vice president and chief operating officer, ITC. "This recognition from the EPA is another positive development in our overall commitment to environmental stewardship."

ITC voluntarily joined forces with the U.S. EPA SF6 Emission Reduction Partnership for Electric Power Systems in 2005. ITC joined the partnership to institute an industry standard for reporting its emissions; to establish inventory tracking of its SF6 use; and to work in collaboration with other industry partners and the EPA to develop and improve gas handling and maintenance programs.

Since then, the company has invested in programs that specifically replace and maintain equipment to reduce SF6 emissions. ITC has developed an Environmental Management System (EMS) to address all its significant potential environmental impacts, including SF6 gas usage and emissions. The SF6 gas management team has developed procedures and work practices through the EMS to ensure the consistent control, measurement and reporting of SF6 emissions company-wide.

ITC's team efforts in equipment maintenance, repair, and replacement were highlighted by the EPA in a June 2008 case study. Since its publication, ITC has collaborated on the investigation, purchase and use of new technologies, equipment and procedures to improve the detection, tracking and repair of leaks. ITC has further reduced emissions by taking 81 older SF6 gas circuit breakers out of service and replacing old gas insulated switchgear (GIS).

"ITC Holdings Corp. is to be commended for their early action on climate protection and their commitment to sharing information across the sector," said Sally Rand for EPA's Office of Atmospheric Programs. "They demonstrate that through partnerships and dedication to emissions reductions, the power transmission sector can reduce emissions of SF6 significantly."

In addition to its SF6 program, ITC is pursuing a number of green initiatives in its business operations. Its headquarters facility, opened in March 2008, was built up rather than out to protect the natural wetland habitat surrounding the building. Its design incorporates a variety of energy efficient materials and processes including energy-efficient lighting; occupancy sensors; floor to ceiling Low E-glass windows; a cooling system that uses outside cold air rather than a chiller; and high-efficiency natural gas boilers.

On Friday morning, the president of ITC Great Plains came to Dodge City Community College to present the college with scholarship funds.

ITC Great Plains is a transmission-only utility that is working to improve electrical transmission throughout Kansas and the surrounding areas. The utility is currently working on a transmission line that will run from Spearville to Axtell, Neb., and will provide electricity to over 30,000 homes from the Spearville wind farms. The utility is also working on a project called the V-Plan, which will connect the Spearville substation to the Thistle substation, just east of Medicine Lodge, and will continue to improve electrical transmission.

Dodge City Globe - April 28, 2012