The Public Service Commission voted Oct. 30 to grant a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) for the Western Wisconsin Transmission Connection project (LRTP 5), finding the project—studied as part of MISO’s Tranche 1 portfolio—provides regional reliability and economic benefits that are reasonable in relation to cost and adopting route- and project-specific conditions to mitigate environmental and community impacts.

Commissioner Hawkins (Commissioner, Public Service Commission), who led the discussion, described the project’s background under MISO’s long-range transmission planning (LRTP) and the Multivalue Project (MVP) classification. The commission reviewed the record on need, alternatives, engineering, reliability, safety, and environmental impacts and noted MISO’s modeling that the tranche of projects produces system benefits widely across the MISO Midwest subregion. Commissioner Hawkins said the project’s benefits were supported by detailed modeling and staff review.

The applicants (Northern States Power Company–Wisconsin and American Transmission Company) proposed two route alternatives. The commission selected Route 2, the applicants’ preferred route, noting it is shorter (approximately 80.3 miles vs. ~93 miles), less costly (the applicant’s estimates were approximately $483 million for Route 2 vs. $669 million for Route 1), and would parallel existing utility corridors and have fewer impacts to residential areas and public resources. Commissioners also authorized the Trimble North substation expansion site (rather than the adjacent southern site) because it requires less new right-of-way acreage and avoids an area planned for potential solar development.

Because the line is a 345 kV facility, the commission explicitly considered statutory requirements applicable to high-voltage projects and found the project provides increased usage and regional reliability benefits; staff confirmed key reliability claims through steady-state and dynamic modeling. Commissioners noted some limitations in the record—particularly that costs from other Tranche 1 projects that will be allocated to Wisconsin under MISO’s cost-sharing methodology were not fully analyzed by state staff—but concluded the project’s benefits substantively outweighed those concerns under multiple sensitivities.

The commission approved a standard package of order conditions, and added project-specific requirements reflected in the final decision. Among the most notable: (1) revised construction-spread permitting language that requires applicants to obtain necessary federal, state and local permits for each defined construction spread prior to beginning work; (2) a stray-voltage testing condition requiring coordination with the applicable distribution utility to make stray-voltage testing available at agricultural confined animal operations within a half-mile of the project right-of-way, reporting results to commission staff, and protocols to rectify identified problems; and (3) a minor routing adjustment process that allows limited adjustments to protect environmental resources or respond to landowner requests, with staff review and delegated approval when appropriate. The record also supports hiring an independent environmental/agricultural monitor (IEM/IAM) to report to the commission and relevant state agencies for the duration of construction.

A motion to approve the CPCN for Docket 5CE158 with the discussed conditions was moved and approved by voice vote.