Power line foes take aim at ATC application

A petition that asks the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to revoke its finding that an application to extend power lines to the Vantage Data Centers Lighthouse Campus in Port Washington is complete will be considered by the agency on Thursday, Aug. 6.

The hearing will be held in Madison at 10:30 a.m.

The Responsible Energy Alliance, a coalition of Saukville, Trenton, Fredonia and Farmington residents potentially impacted by the extension of the power lines, filed the petition, saying that since ATC’s application was declared complete, the company has filed 564 additional application documents and 168 staff data request responses, making extensive changes to the project.

“Together these filings proposed a plethora of changes, modifications and updates to an application that ATC previously represented to the commission as complete,” the petition states.

More than 1,000 comments on the petition have been filed with the PSC, according to Patti Plough, a leader of the alliance, who noted that comments were being taken until 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5.

“We have accomplished something significant by getting so many people engaged and making their voices heard,” she said in a letter to alliance members.

The petition quotes a PSC staff member as saying the alterations to the application have caused “more significant challenges than normal” for the review of the matter, especially given the timeframe for reviewing the case record.

“A major issue that went unaddressed in ATC’s original application and remains unaddressed even after the application’s 564-plus amendments and modifications is that ATC utterly fails to justify its shocking proposal to route the massive ... transmission lines directly through one of the most beautiful, pristine and environmentally sensitive greenfield areas of Ozaukee and Washington counties,” the petition states.

It alleges that ATC’s preferred and contingent-preferred routes “blatantly” violate criteria set by the Legislature that prioritizes following existing transmission corridors when building new lines.

Not only is using the existing corridor a viable option that bypasses two eight-mile greenfield segments opposed by the alliance, the petition states, it is one preferred by many communities along the route and Vantage itself.

The petition also says that the alliance’s costing expert found discrepancies and errors in the transmission line budget that overstate any advantages of the preferred and contingent-preferred routes over the greenfield routes.

The petition seeks to either have the PSC revoke its finding that the application is complete and require ATC to refile its application or to order ATC to withdraw consideration of the greenfield segments opposed by the alliance.

Thursday’s meeting comes as the PSC prepares to hold public hearings on ATC’s transmission line request.

The PSC will hold public hearings from 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18, at Fredonia Village Hall and from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, at the Kiel Community Center.

People may attend in person or via Zoom at https://us02web.soom.us/my/pschearings.

People who have registered as intervenors will be part of a public hearing session that begins at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 25, in the PSC hearing room in Madison.

That session may be viewed on YouTube at https://youtube.com/@PSCWI-Hearings.

Written comments may be submitted to the PSC by mailing them to Docket 137-CE-221 Comments, Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 7854, Madison 53707-7854 or online at https://tinyurl.com/3vxeu2w9.

Written comments are due at the PSC on Friday, Aug. 28.