Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Daniel P. Wolf
Telephone:651.201.2217
Fax:651.297.7073

Order Granting Route Permit
**Note - links to the maps begin on page 45.

St. Paul, Minnesota - The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission met today and issued a route permit identifying a specific route and permit conditions for much of the 345kV transmission line project from Brookings, South Dakota to Hampton, Minnesota.

The Commission approved the route permit for this line with the exception of the portion of the project between the Cedar Mountain and Helena substations. That section includes the line’s second Minnesota River crossing. The Commission deferred taking final action on the route for a second Minnesota River crossing by referring that issue back to the Office of Administrative Hearings. There, an Administrative Law Judge could hear further testimony and receive additional input from the parties and government agencies regarding this crossing in light of appropriate actions to protect wildlife in the area.

In addition, the Commission adopted provisions which will strengthen the requirement that utilities consult with affected landowners. As part of this effort, the Commission directed staff to develop “plain English” information bulletins that can be used by the utilities when contacting landowners regarding the use of eminent domain proceedings to acquire rights-of-way and easements.

The utilities can now begin negotiations with landowners for easements within the permitted sections of the line. Work on the approved portions of the line is expected to start in 2011.

Great River Energy and Xcel Energy filed a route permit application on December 29, 2008, for approximately 237 miles of new 345 kV transmission line and associated facilities between the existing Brookings County Substation near White, South Dakota and a newly proposed substation near Hampton, Minnesota. While construction will be finished in phases, it is anticipated that this total segment of transmission line will be operational and on-line by the summer of 2015.

This project is part of a larger transmission undertaking termed CapX2020 which calls for building four lines across Minnesota totaling more than 700 miles. In addition to this segment, other projects filed with the Commission are a 28-mile, 345kV line from Monticello to St. Cloud, which was approved by the Commission last week; a 345 kV, 250-mile line from St. Cloud to Fargo, North Dakota; a 70-mile, 230 kV transmission line from Bemidji, Minnesota to Grand Rapids, Minnesota; and a 150-mile, 345 kV line from Hampton, Minnesota to LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

A final written order formally documenting the Commission’s decision will be issued in several weeks. That order in docket ET2/TL-08-1474 will be available on the Commission’s website via the Commission’s eDockets system.