Xcel Energy is committed to serving reliable and affordable electricity for customers in Western Wisconsin and throughout the Upper Midwest. As electric use in the region grows, aging plants retire, and new power plants connect to the system, energy companies in the Midwest are planning to build new transmission lines, ensuring customers have the electricity they need to power their homes, businesses and lives.
Xcel Energy is proposing the Western Wisconsin Transmission Connection, a new 345 kilovolt (kV) transmission line that will connect to other existing infrastructure in the region. The new high-voltage transmission line will bring new renewable energy to customers in Wisconsin, improve long-term reliability, and help manage the energy grid as it evolves. Additionally, the project will help connect all of the 345-kV transmission lines in the state—enabling electricity to be delivered to Wisconsin customers when they need it, and help maintain system resilience during severe weather and extreme conditions.
If approved, the project would add between 80 and 100 miles of new transmission infrastructure connecting new and existing substations, meeting electric growth and reliability for customers. As proposed, the new line will likely start at an existing substation near the City of Blair in Trempealeau County and connect with existing infrastructure near Eau Claire (either near the City of Owen in Clark County or the Village of Sheldon in Rusk County), and then connect to an existing transmission line to the north and east. Xcel Energy has proposed two route options for the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) to review (see map below).
The Mid-Continent Independent System Operator (MISO) worked with Xcel Energy and other energy companies throughout the Upper Midwest to identify new transmission projects that can be built to manage the new energy system, including several in Minnesota and Wisconsin. These projects will connect the new low-cost renewable energy with customers, ensuring that as older plants retire, customers will continue to receive the electric service they depend on when they need it.
As much as possible, Xcel Energy expects to propose using existing transmission line corridors to lessen the impact of the new infrastructure on landowners and communities. In some cases, we will replace existing ‘single circuit’ transmission lines with new ‘double-circuit’ poles that include the existing and new transmission lines.
Xcel Energy expects the project to provide nearly $500 million in economic benefit to Wisconsin customers due to the low-cost renewable energy and system improvements to the new infrastructure will provide. When combined with ATC’s Grid Forward project in central Wisconsin, both projects are expected to deliver benefits between $648 million to $911 million.
Xcel Energy filed an application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW). The PSCW declared the application ‘complete’ in late 2024, paving the way for full state review of the project in 2025, including public hearings that will be scheduled later this year. Xcel Energy will work with the PSCW to inform landowners and local officials when those hearings are scheduled.
Members of the public and potentially affected landowners are encouraged to submit comments, either at hearings or in writing. You can review the docket and sign up for information by visiting:
https://apps.psc.wi.gov/ERF/ERF/ERFhome.aspx and searching the docket number 5-CE-158. Additional information on the State of Wisconsin’s process is available here: https://psc.wi.gov/Pages/CommissionActions/CasePages/WesternWisconsin.aspx
