Ensuring Electric Reliability in
Minnesota and the Surrounding Region
CapX 2020 (Capacity Expansion by 2020) is
a joint initiative of transmission-owning
electric utilities in Minnesota and the surrounding
region formed to expand the electric transmission
grid to ensure electric reliability for years
to come. The project began as a collaborative
planning effort by the utilities (including
cooperatives, municipal utilities and investor-owned
utilities) to assess the current system and
project the growth in customer demand for
electricity through 2020.
Planning studies have shown that customer
demand for electricity will grow by 6,300
megawatts by 2020, resulting in the need to
expand the transmission grid to accommodate
that growth.
The CapX 2020 utilities are entering into
the regulatory and implementation phase of
the project. They will begin seeking regulatory
approval for approximately 600 miles of 345
kilovolt lines in Minnesota with short segments
in North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Regulatory filings for a smaller, 230 kilovolt
line in north-central Minnesota also are planned.
First, we filed notice plans which detail
how the utilities will notify landowners,
residents and local governments in areas where
the new lines are projected to be built. Next,
we will submit
an application for Certificate of Need to
the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
These initial regulatory filings mark the
beginning of a rigorous and lengthy public
process that will involve residents in the
communities where transmission is most needed.
The CapX 2020 utilities will hold open houses,
work groups and participate in public meetings
throughout the proposed corridors to ensure
interested parties can provide input into
the need and potential routes.
If the commission certifies the need for
the projects, it will determine routes for
the new lines in subsequent separate proceedings.
CapX utilities are committed to communicating
about this project early and often, and working
with the public at every stage of the process.
The proposed projects serve Minnesota’s
most immediate electric needs first and will
help ensure reliable electricity for Minnesota’s
growing communities, farms and industry.
SE
Twin Cities-Rochester-LaCrosse Project
For more information on the CapX2020 project
contact Tony Benson, Communications Coordinator,
at 507-280-1534 or
tbenson@rpu.org |
