Projects and Initiatives

METC upgraded it to improve reliability and meet current design and construction standards.

As part of ITC Michigan’s efforts to modernize aging electric transmission infrastructure and improve service reliability, we replaced 76 wood transmission poles with modern steel monopoles along the Apache – Seneca 120,000 volt (120 kV) transmission line. The 4.5-mile project began in September 2016 and was completed in 2018.

To support electric reliability and increase capacity in the Ann Arbor area, ITC Michigan, through its ITCTransmission subsidiary, constructed approximately three miles of underground transmission line to connect a new DTE Energy substation named Apex, located near the intersection of Huron Parkway and Hubbard Road, to an existing substation named Phoenix, located just north of Dhu Varren Road.

The Battle Creek-Island Road line spans Calhoun and Eaton Counties. ITC Michigan, through its Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC) subsidiary, will rebuild 23 miles of this line with new single-circuit structures and conductor (wires), providing greater reliability in this area of the state.

ITC Michigan, through its Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC) subsidiary, has rebuilt approximately 22 miles of its Beecher - Samaria 138,000 volt (138kV) transmission line. This project improves the reliability of high-voltage electrical service in the area by replacing the current wood H-frame and steel lattice structures with double-circuit steel monopoles. Construction was conducted in two phases: Morocco – Samaria and Morocco – Beecher, both completed in 2019.

ITC Midwest built the Black Hawk-Hazleton 345 kV line from ITC’s Hazleton substation in Buchanan County, Iowa, to an interconnection with a MidAmerican Energy line in Black Hawk County.

ITC Holdings Corp. is upgrading electricity transmission infrastructure in west Michigan. METC will retire its aging Blendon Substation and work with Wolverine Power Cooperative to acquire its nearby 69,000 volt (69 kV) ring bus station.

ITC Michigan, through its ITCTransmission subsidiary, upgraded its approximately 4 mile, 120,000 volt (120 kV) Bloomfield-Hamlin transmission line that serves the Auburn Hills, Pontiac and Rochester Hills, Mich., communities.

ITC is partnering with American Transmission Co. (ATC) and Dairyland Power Cooperative to propose a high-voltage electric transmission line connecting northeast Iowa and western Wisconsin that would provide economic savings, support renewable energy, and improve electric system reliability.

Known as the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line, the proposed project connects ITC Midwest’s Hickory Creek Substation just east of New Vienna in Dubuque County, Iowa, extending northward into Clayton County and crossing the Mississippi River east of Millville. The proposed line would then be routed through Wisconsin and connect to the Cardinal Substation in Dane County.

Reliable, sustainable, efficient energy is critical to the quality of life we enjoy. To improve electric reliability, enable more electric generating sources to connect to customers, and meet the region’s growing energy needs, ITC Midwest (ITC) built a new high-voltage electric transmission line in north central Iowa. 

To support economic growth in southern Michigan, ITC Michigan, through its Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC) subsidiary, is constructing new substations and transmission lines in the City of Coldwater, and in Coldwater, Girard and Union Townships. The project is being constructed in two phases:

 

 

METC recently upgraded the Cottage Grove-East Tawas section of the Iosco-Karn 138,000 volt (138 kV) line in northeastern Michigan, bringing the line there up to design and construction codes.

ITC Michigan, through its Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC) subsidiary, has upgraded the southern segment of the Croton-Mecosta 138,000 volt (138 kV) line with new steel monopole structures and aluminum conductors to increase its capacity and reliability and also allow for future expansion.

Portions of the electric transmission grid in Michigan, including many structures along the Delhi – Canal Jct.138,000 volt (138kV) transmission line, were built more than 50 years ago and have experienced minimal investment since that time. As a result, this line had become increasingly unreliable and costly to maintain as growing demand for electricity and outdated infrastructure technology taxed its service capabilities, creating the potential for it to become overloaded.

ITC Michigan, through its Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC) subsidiary, is improving the reliability of high-voltage electrical service in the area south of Lansing by replacing wood poles with more durable steel monopole structures. This project was completed in 2015.

The J717 and J728 Generator Interconnection Projects will connect 386 MW of wind generation to ITC’s METC system. To support the interconnection, ITC will construct a new substation, called Salt River, in Warren Twp.

ITC Midwest rebuilt an existing 161 kV transmission line in southwest Minnesota between its Heron Lake and Lakefield substations.

To improve reliability and meet the region’s growing energy demands, ITC Midwest built a new electric transmission line and substation in northern Linn County, Iowa. The Hiawatha-Coffey line connects ITC Midwest’s existing Hiawatha electric substation (located in the south part of Robins) to a new substation, called Coffey substation, located one-half mile west of Highway 13. The new line connects the two substations, which are approximately 10 miles apart, and carry electricity at 161 kV. Construction was completed in December 2016.

ITC Midwest and Xcel Energy are proposing to build a 40-50 mile 345 kilovolt (kV) transmission line that would connect ITC Midwest's Huntley Substation, south of Winnebago, and Xcel Energy's Wilmarth Substation, north of Mankato.

As Michigan continues to transition to a cleaner portfolio of power generation resources, additional transmission capacity will be needed to promote the continued reliability of the bulk power system and support the interconnection of new generation resources. 

The Elm Creek to Summit 345,000-volt (345kV) transmission line is improving the reliability of the grid in central Kansas, allowing the grid to continue to meet required standards of reliability. 

The V-Plan is a high-voltage transmission line connect eastern and western Kansas to improve electric reliability and enable energy developers to tap into the transmission grid, further establishing a competitive energy market in the state and region. This project also contributes to a stronger transmission grid, ultimately benefitting the entire region.

The lines and structures on the Keystone-Hodenpyl 138,000 volt (138 kV) line reached their design capacity limits and became difficult to maintain. METC  upgraded this 26-mile line in order to improve reliability and to meet current safety, design and construction standards.

This new line will run approximately 30 miles from ITC’s Killdeer substation southwest of Mason City, Iowa, to interconnect with a proposed MidAmerican Energy Co. line in Franklin County, Iowa. 

ITC Michigan is working with Ontario-based Hydro One to upgrade the communication path that connects St. Clair to Lambton.

To meet the demand for improved reliability and to permit greater access to generating sources, ITC Midwest is building the Ledyard-Colby 345 kV electric transmission line. Construction on this 55-mile segment between ITC Midwest’s Ledyard and Colby Substations in northern Iowa began in late 2017, with competition slated for 2019

ITC Michigan, through its Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC) subsidiary, will rebuild the line with new steel monopole structures and a higher capacity conductor (wires) to provide greater reliability in the southern region of the state.

To improve reliability and meet the region’s growing energy demands, ITC Michigan, through its ITC Transmission subsidiary, is constructing a new substation and transmission line in the City of Dearborn.

As Michigan continues to transition to a cleaner portfolio of power generation resources, additional transmission capacity will be needed to promote the continued reliability of the bulk power system and support the interconnection of new generation resources.

ITC invested $510 million to build the 345,000 volt (345 kV) line, which now serves as the backbone of a system designed to meet the identified maximum wind energy potential of Michigan’s Thumb region.

Following years of planning and construction, ITC Midwest completed and energized a major new, high voltage electric transmission line in 2018. As a 110-mile segment of Multi-Value Project (MVP) 3, the 345,000 volt (345 kV) transmission line connects ITC Midwest’s Lakefield Junction and Huntley substations in southern Minnesota, and the Ledyard switching substation and MidAmerican Energy’s Kossuth County substation, in northern Iowa.

ITC Michigan, through its Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC) subsidiary, is constructing a new substation, named Morocco, in Lenawee County to alleviate stress on the transmission system and provide a more stable and reliable source of energy for the area.

The Hugo-to-Valliant Project is an approximately 18-mile, 345,000 volt (345kV) transmission line from a new substation located at the Hugo power plant west of Fort Towson, Oklahoma, to an existing substation southeast of Valliant.

ITC is partnering to build the proposed Ottumwa-Iowa/Missouri Border 345 kV transmission project running from Chillicothe, Iowa, approximately 40 miles south to the Iowa-Missouri border.

In order to improve the reliability of high voltage electrical service in northern Michigan, ITC Michigan, through its Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC) subsidiary, will rebuild approximately 70 miles of the Riggsville - Port Calcite - Rockport 138,000 volt (138 kV) double circuit transmission line spanning the northeast lower peninsula.

ITC Midwest identified the Salem-Hazleton project as a priority after acquiring the region’s high-voltage electric transmission lines in December 2007. In April 2013, ITC Midwest energized the more than 80 miles of line, which extends from ITC Midwest’s Salem substation south of Dubuque, Iowa, to its Hazleton substation in Buchanan County.

ITC Michigan, through its ITCTransmission subsidiary, is upgrading its 6.4 mile, 120,000 volt (120 kV) Southfield-Sunset transmission line that serves the Farmington, Farmington Hills and Southfield, Mich., communities.

The Spearville-Axtell line, also known as the KETA Project, is a 345,000 volt (345kV) transmission line designed to improve the reliability and efficiency of the regional grid, and make more affordable energy available.

ITC Michigan, through its ITCTransmission subsidiary, will construct approximately three miles of 120,000 volt (120kV) double-circuit transmission line to connect the State and Pioneer substations. This project will support electric reliability and increase capacity in the Ann Arbor area. Construction is expected to be completed in early 2020.

ITC Holdings Corp., through its Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC (METC) subsidiary, is upgrading electricity transmission infrastructure in Michigan. METC will rebuild approximately 22 miles of its Stover – Van Tyle 138 kV transmission line, replacing the existing structures with new monopoles designed for higher-rated conductor (wire). Site preparation will begin in Q1 2020. Construction will begin in Q3 2020 and be completed in Q2 2021.

ITC advanced a grid development vision in 2009 called the Green Power Express™ (GPX™) to move growing power generation development that exceeded local needs in the Upper Midwest to load centers and markets where more power is used.

METC recently rebuilt the line with new steel monopole structures and aluminum conductors (wires) to increase its capacity and reliability.

ITC’s Toll Road Project in Monroe County, Michigan, is providing greater system reliability and operational flexibility in the region.

ITC Holdings Corp., through its Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC (METC) subsidiary, will rebuild approximately six miles of its Verona – Barnum Creek Jct. 138,000 volt (138 kV) transmission line in Calhoun County. The existing structures will be replaced with new 230 kV double-circuit structures and conductor (wires), providing greater reliability in southwest Michigan. Site preparation work began in Q1 2018. The project is expected to be complete in mid-2020. 

ITC’s METC subsidiary is upgrading electricity transmission infrastructure in Michigan by rebuilding approximately 16 miles of its Vestaburg – Alma 138 kV transmission line.

In order to improve the reliability of high-voltage electrical service in the Kalamazoo area, ITC Michigan, through its Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC) subsidiary, is constructing a new substation and two new transmission lines in Almena and Oshtemo townships.