Judge hears testimony on plan; PUC will decide route this spring
Great River Energy’s proposed reroute of an electric power line has residents along Baseline Avenue and Highway 19 angry and frustrated the company selected a route they claim will negatively impact their homes and businesses.
Wednesday evening, Jan. 24, a few dozen residents attended a public hearing at the New Prague Fire Station on GRE’s plan to reroute a 115 kilovolt (KV) line currently running along County Road 2, between Baseline Avenue and Scott County Road 23, to a new route utilizing Baseline Avenue south from County Road 2 to Highway 19 and then head east from Baseline Avenue to connect with a 69 KV GRE line along County Road 23. Removing the 115 KV line will make room for the second 345 KV line originally intended as part of the CapX 2020 transmission lines from wind farms in southwestern Minnesota across the state to Hampton and beyond. The transmission lines and the 115 KV line serve the regional grid, said Mark Strohfus, Great River Energy’s permitting project manager for the 115 KV line.
Administrative Law Judge Suzanne Todnem will consider testimony from public hearings and the information in the company’s application for the $10.4 million rerouting plan as well as information from GRE to issue a recommendation on the proposed reroute. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will use the recommendation and other information in deciding whether or not to grant GRE’s application for the rerouting when it considers the company’s application later this spring.
Working on land easement agreements ahead of the PUC approval, Great River Energy has already begun speaking with landowners about...
To see more on this story pick up the February 1, 2024 print edition of The New Prague Times.
GRE’s transmission line reroute plan has area residents abuzz
