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American Transmission Co. officials gave the public a last look Tuesday at its preferred and alternative routes for a 138 kilovolt electrical transmission line connecting substations in Bristol and Lake Geneva.
ATC held a public informational meeting Tuesday evening at Wheatland Center School that 139 people attended.
The next step for the project is submission to the state Public Service Commission, which after a series of technical and public hearings will decide whether the line will be built and what route it will follow, said Alissa Braatz, ATC corporate communications specialist.
ATC says the new line will “strengthen the electric transmission system serving southern Walworth and Western Kenosha counties and help prevent outages and service interruptions.”
The line route has been controversial for some, however. The Salem School Board adopted a position opposing the line running near that school and the Wheatland Center School Board is also expected to adopt a formal position on the the line, which is proposed to run down Highway O, where the school is located.
Paddock Lake village officials also have been critical of a portion of the preferred route that runs through a currently undeveloped tax increment financing district along Highway F. Village President Terry Burns said the village may take legal action to try to stop the line as it is currently proposed by ATC.
ATC expects to submit its application to the PSC in April. PSC hearings are expected to take place in the fall, Braatz said. ATC anticipates a PSC decision by summer 2016 and if approved to design the line and obtain easements in the remainder of 2016 and into 2017. Construction would start in 2017 and project would enter service in 2019.
