North Central Wisconsin Reliability Project

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 City of Merrill and the Towns of Pine River and Scott, Lincoln County, the Towns of Stettin, Texas, and the Village of Maine, Marathon County,​ Wisconsin​

Docket ID: 137-CE-216

Application of American Transmission Company LLC, as an Electric Public Utility, for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to construct and operate the North Central Wisconsin Reliability Project, consisting of a new 115 kilovolt (kV) transmission line located primarily in the City of Merrill and the Towns of Pine River and Scott, Lincoln County, the Towns of Stettin, Texas, and the Village of Maine, Marathon County Wisconsin (collectively known as the North Central Wisconsin Reliability Project).​​

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Application Summary

Overview

American Transmission Company (ATC or applicant) is seeking approval to construct a new 115 kV transmission line from the existing Pine Substation (to be expanded) to the existing Hilltop Substation. The Proposed Route would route through the City of Merrill and the Town of Pine River in Lincoln County and the towns of Texas and Stettin and the Village of Maine in Marathon County. The Alternative Route would route through the City of Merrill and the towns of Pine River and Scott in Lincoln County and the Village of Maine and the Town of Stettin in Marathon County.  Pine Substation would be expanded.

The Proposed and Alternative Routes would be constructed as a single-circuit, 115 kV transmission line on self-supporting steel monopole structures. The Proposed Route would be approximately 17.7 miles in length. The Alternative Route would be approximately 22.1 miles in length. There is approximately 2.2 miles of Common Segments that would be used by either Proposed or Alternative routes if approved. There are several existing distribution lines that are located in roadside along the Proposed and Alternative routes that may require removal and relocation. 

A total of 35 percent of the Proposed Route exists within shared right-of-way (ROW), 41 percent of the Alternative Route exists within shared ROW, and 52 percent of the Common Route exists within shared ROW.

Applicant stated need

The project is needed to address thermal limitations that result from multiple contingency outage events defined within the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Transmission Planning (TPL)-001 standard. The proposed p​roject would bring an additional transmission source into the 115 kV system in northern central Wisconsin which would support this area under all multiple outage conditions defined within the NERC TPL-001 standard. ​

Estimated cost

ATC estimates that the Project will cost $75,339,000 for the Proposed Route or $92,448,000 for the Alternative Route. 

Project location

The project would be located within Lincoln County and Marathon County, Wisconsin.​

Proposed schedule

  • The applicant submitted the application to the Commission in April 2025. 
  • If approved, the applicant anticipates construction to begin in April 2027 and be completed in December of 2028.​
Statutory Review​​​

This project​ is categorized as a Type II action under Wis. Admin. Code § PSC 4.10(2). The Commission will prepare an EA for this project that will evaluate the location of the project and its potential environmental, community, and private property impacts. There will be a preliminary determination when the Environmental Assessment (EA) is complete that will determine whether the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is necessary.


Key Application Documents


Case Contacts and Additional Information

Access Docket 137-CE-216​ in the PSC Case Management System to view​ additional information.

Utilize the Staff Involved tab for contact details for PSC staff assigned to the docket, including the case coordinator and the environmental review coordinator.

Click the Documents tab for a complete list of docket documents categorized by document type.​

Access Doc​​ket 137-CE-216​​​​​​​​

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