Studies and Reports > 2017 MN Biennial Report >Transmission Planning Zones

7.0 Transmission-Owning Utilities

7.1 Introduction

In this chapter in the 2017 Report, the utilities have provided the following information.

Background Information and Contact Person

For ease of reference, the utilities have provided much of the same background information that was provided in the 2015 Report. This information relates to the history of the utility and the extent of its service territory and operations. An Internet link is provided where additional information about each utility can be found. In addition, a Contact Person is identified for each utility.

Transmission Line Ownership

In the 2007 Biennial Report, the utilities reported on the miles of transmission lines each utility owned in Minnesota. The MTO updated that information in subsequent biennial reports in 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015 and they are updating it again in this report. The table below is the latest information on the transmission lines in Minnesota owned by each utility. In addition, information specific to each utility is included in the discussion for that utility.

Miles of Transmission

7.2   American Transmission Company, LLC

Background information. American Transmission Company (ATC) began operations on January 1, 2001, the first multi-state electric transmission-only utility in the country.  The company is head-quartered in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, with more than 600 employees working in Wisconsin and Michigan.

At least 28 utilities, municipalities, municipal electric companies, and electric cooperatives from Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois have invested transmission assets or money for an ownership stake in the company.  ATC is responsible for operating and maintaining the transmission lines of its equity owners.  It owns more than 9,480 circuit miles of transmission lines and 529 substations in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota. ATC has $3.3 billion in total assets.

ATC is a transmission-owning member of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator and its transmission system is located in both the Midwest Reliability Organization and ReliabilityFirst Corporation.

More information about the company is available on its website at:  http://www.atcllc.com

Transmission lines. ATC owns more than 9,480 miles of transmission lines, including 12 miles in Minnesota. The transmission line segment in Minnesota extends from the Arrowhead Substation in the Duluth area to the St. Louis River and is part of the 220-mile 345-kV Arrowhead-Weston line that extends from the Arrowhead Substation to the Gardner Park Substation in Wausau, Wisconsin.  The Arrowhead-Weston line, which cost $439 million to construct, was energized in January 2008.  Arrowhead-Weston provides such benefits as improving reliability, enhancing transfer capacity between Minnesota and Wisconsin, and providing ATC and other utilities greater opportunities to perform maintenance on other parts of the electric system, which reduces operating costs.

7.3   Dairyland Power Cooperative

Background Information. Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC), a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, was formed in December 1941. A generation and transmission cooperative, Dairyland provides the wholesale electrical requirements to 24 member distribution cooperatives and 17 municipal utilities in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. Today, the cooperative's generating resources include coal, hydro, wind, natural gas, landfill gas and animal waste. In 2010, Dairyland Power Cooperative joined a larger regional transmission organization called the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).

More information about Dairyland Power Cooperative is available at:  http://www.dairylandpower.com

Transmission Lines. Dairyland delivers electricity via more than 3,100 miles of transmission lines and nearly 300 substations located throughout the system's 44,500 square mile service area. Dairyland has the following transmission facilities in Minnesota:

Dairyland Transmission Lines

7.4   East River Electric Power Cooperative

Background Information. East River Electric Power Cooperative (East River), headquartered in Madison, South Dakota, is a wholesale electric power supply and transmission cooperative serving 24 rural distribution electric cooperatives and one municipally-owned electric system, which in turn serve more than 250,000 member-owners. East River's 40,000 square mile service area covers the rural areas of 41 counties in eastern South Dakota and twenty-two counties in western Minnesota.

Six of East River's member systems have service areas entirely in western Minnesota and one member system has service areas in both eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota, The remaining nineteen member systems have service areas entirely in eastern South Dakota.

More information about East River Electric Power Cooperative is available at:  http://www.eastriver.coop

TransmissionLines. East River delivers electricity via approximately 2,900 miles of transmission lines and 213 substations located throughout the system's 36,000 square mile service area in eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota. East River has the following transmission facilities in Minnesota:

East River Electric Power Cooperative Transmission Lines

7.5   Great River Energy

Background Information. Great River Energy (GRE) is a not-for-profit electric cooperative owned by 28 member distribution cooperatives. The organization generates and transmits electricity for those members, which are located from the outer-ring suburbs of the Twin Cities, up to the Arrowhead region of Minnesota and down to the farming communities in the southwest part of the state. Great River Energy's largest distribution cooperative serves more than 125,000 member-consumers, while the smallest serves approximately 2,500. Collectively, Great River Energy's member cooperatives distribute electricity to approximately 655,000 member accounts, or about 1.7 million people. In addition, Great River Energy is part of a larger regional transmission organization called the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).

More information about Great River Energy is available at:  http://www.greatriverenergy.com

Transmission Lines.  Great River Energy has the following transmission lines:

GRE Transmission Lines

7.6   Hutchinson Utilities Commission

Background Information. The City of Hutchinson is located 55 miles west of Minneapolis in McLeod County and has a population of approximately 14,000 people. The area is expected to continue to grow over the next decade. The Hutchinson Utilities Commission (HUC) was established in 1936 by the City of Hutchinson as a municipal public utilities commission under Minn. Stat. § 412.321 et seq., and added a municipal natural gas operation in 1960. HUC provides electricity and natural-gas services to commercial and residential customers in Hutchinson. Its largest commercial customers are 3M and Hutchinson Technologies, Inc. HUC transmission facilities are under the functional control of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).

Additional information is available at:  http://www.hutchinsonutilities.com/about-huc/

Transmission Lines.  Hutchinson Utilities Commission owns 8 miles of a 69 kV transmission line and 9 miles of a 115 kV line in McLeod County.

7.7   ITC Midwest LLC

Background Information: ITC Midwest LLC (ITC Midwest) is an independent transmission company subsidiary of ITC Holdings Corp. ITC Midwest purchased the transmission assets of Interstate Power and Light, a subsidiary of Alliant Energy, in December 2007. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved the sale in an Order dated February 7, 2008.  MPUC Docket No. E001/PA-07-540.

ITC Midwest has headquarters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and ITC Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Novi, Michigan. ITC Midwest also has offices in Dubuque and Des Moines, Iowa, and in St. Paul, Minnesota. Minnesota warehouses are located in Albert Lea and Lakefield, Minnesota. In addition, ITC Midwest's transmission system is part of a larger regional transmission system called the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO.)

More information about ITC Midwest and ITC Holdings Corp. can be found at:  http://www.itctransco.com

Transmission Lines. The ITC Midwest system includes approximately 6,600 miles of transmission lines, operating at voltages from 34.5 kV to 345 kV in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri.

ITC Midwest Transmission Lines

7.8   L&O Power Cooperative

Background Information. L & O Power Cooperative (L&O), headquartered in Rock Rapids, Iowa, is a wholesale electric power supply and transmission cooperative serving three rural distribution electric cooperatives.  These member cooperatives in turn serve more than 5,600 homes and businesses across Rock and Pipestone counties in southwest Minnesota, and Lyon and Osceola counties in northwest Iowa.  Approximately 2,700 of the total 5,600 total consumers served are located in Minnesota.

Additional information about L&O is available at:  http://www.landopowercoop.com

Transmission Lines.  L&O delivers wholesale electricity via approximately 193 miles of transmission lines and 16 substations located throughout the system's four county service area in southwestern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa.  L&O has the following transmission facilities in Minnesota:

L&O Power Cooperative Transmission Lines

7.9   Marshall Municipal Utilities

Background Information. Marshall Municipal Utilities (MMU) has been providing electric and water utility services to the City of Marshall for over 120 years.  Marshall is a community of approximately 13,680 people located in Lyon County in Southwest Minnesota approximately 30 miles east of the South Dakota border and 50 miles north of the Iowa border. MMU is the second largest municipal utility in the state in terms of retail energy sales at over 580,420 kWh sold in 2015.  MMU serves over 6,500 customers and has a peak demand of just under 85 megawatts.

More information about MMU is available at: http://www.marshallutilities.com/about

Transmission Lines.  Marshall Municipal Utilities owns 18.1 miles of 115 kV transmission line.

7.10   Minnesota Power

Background Information. Minnesota Power (MP), a division of ALLETE, Inc., is an investor-owned utility headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota. Minnesota Power provides electricity in a 26,000 square-mile electric service area located in northeastern Minnesota. Minnesota Power serves about 145,000 residential and commercial customers, 16 municipalities, and some of the nation's largest industrial customers. Minnesota Power's transmission and distribution components include 8,742 miles of lines and 164 substations.  Minnesota Power's transmission network is interconnected with the transmission grid to promote reliability and is part of a larger regional transmission organization called the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).

More information is available on the company's web page at:  http://www.mnpower.com

Transmission Lines.  The number of miles of transmission in Minnesota owned by Minnesota Power is shown in the following table.

Minnesota Power Transmission Lines

7.11   Minnkota Power Cooperative

Background Information. Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc. (Minnkota, or MPC) is a regional generation and transmission cooperative serving 11 member-owner distribution cooperatives in northwestern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. Minnkota's service area is approximately 34,500 square miles over the two states.  Minnkota is also the operating agent for the Northern Municipal Power Agency (NMPA), an association of 12 municipal utilities in the same service region.  Together Minnkota and the NMPA comprise the Joint System and serve more than 150,000 consumers.

Additional information about Minnkota is available at:  http://www.minnkota.com

Transmission Lines. The Joint System owns 1,410.15 miles of transmission line in Minnesota and 1930.27 miles in North Dakota. The miles of Minnesota transmission lines are shown in the following table:

Joint System Transmission Lines

7.12   Missouri River Energy Services

Background Information. Missouri River Energy Services (MRES) began in the early 1960s as an informal association of northwest Iowa municipalities with their own electric systems that decided to coordinate their efforts in negotiating the purchase of power and energy from the United States Bureau of Reclamation of the United States Department of the Interior (USBR).  MRES was established as a body corporate and politic organized in 1965 under Chapter 28E of the Iowa Code and existing under the intergovernmental cooperation laws of the states of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Municipalities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota subsequently joined MRES pursuant to compatible enabling legislation in each state.

MRES is comprised of 60 municipally owned electric utilities in the States of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.  The MRES member cities' service territories roughly coincide with the boundaries of the respective incorporated cities. MRES has no retail load, and all of its firm sales are made to municipal or other wholesale utilities.  MRES acts as an agent for the Western Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (WMMPA), which itself was incorporated as a municipal corporation and political subdivision of the State of Minnesota.  WMMPA provides a means for its members to secure, by individual or joint action among themselves or by contract with other public or private entities within or outside the State of Minnesota, an adequate, economical and reliable supply of electric energy. Current membership in WMMPA consists of 23 municipalities located in Minnesota, each of which owns and operates a utility for the local distribution of electricity.  In addition, MRES is part of a larger regional transmission organization called the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and the Southwest Power Pool (SPP).

More information about Minnesota River Energy can be found at:  http://www.mrenergy.com

Transmission Lines.  Missouri River Energy Services has 212.22 miles of 115 kV transmission lines and 10.97 miles of 230 kV transmission line in Minnesota.

7.13   Northern States Power Company

Background Information. Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota corporation (NSP), is a public utility organized under the laws of the State of Minnesota, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xcel Energy Inc., a publicly-traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. NSP is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Xcel Energy Inc.'s other utility subsidiaries are Northern States Power Company, a Wisconsin corporation (NSPW), headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Public Service Company of Colorado, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and Southwestern Public Service Company, headquartered in Amarillo, Texas.  NSP provides electricity and natural gas to customers in a service territory that encompasses the Twin Cities, many mid-size and small towns throughout Minnesota, and also to portions of South Dakota and North Dakota.  NSP and NSPW operate an integrated generation and transmission system (the NSP System).  In addition, Northern States Power Company is part of a larger regional transmission organization called the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).

More information can be found on Xcel Energy's web page at:  http://www.xcelenergy.com

Transmission Lines.  Northern States Power Company owns about 5,600 miles of transmission lines in Minnesota. The miles of Minnesota transmission lines are shown in the following table.

NSP Transmission Lines

7.14   Otter Tail Power Company

Background Information. Otter Tail Power Company (OTP) is an investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and a subsidiary of Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select Market: OTTR). It provides electricity and energy services to more than 130,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in a service territory of 70,000 square miles that cover over 400 communities throughout Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota, with approximately 61,100 customers in Minnesota. The company was originally incorporated in 1907, and first delivered electricity in 1909 from the Dayton Hollow Dam on the Otter Tail River. In addition, Otter Tail Power Company is part of a larger regional transmission organization called the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).

To learn more about Otter Tail Power Company visit www.otpco.com. To learn more about Otter Tail Corporation visit www.ottertail.com.

Transmission Lines.  OTP has the following transmission lines in Minnesota:

OTP Transmission Lines

7.15   Rochester Public Utilities

Background Information. Rochester Public Utilities (RPU), a department of the City of Rochester, Minnesota, is the largest municipal utility in the state of Minnesota.  RPU serves roughly 48,219 electric customers. In 1978, Rochester joined the Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) with City Council approval.  Initially, RPU was a full-requirements member with SMMPA controlling all of Rochester's electric power.  Today, RPU is a partial requirements member of SMMPA and retains control over its own generating units. All of RPU's load and generation are serviced by the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) through its market function. RPU's Planning Coordinator for transmission is the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool (MAPP). MISO is RPU's Reliability Coordinator via contract.

More information about Rochester Public Utilities is available at:  http://www.rpu.org/about

Transmission Lines. Rochester Public Utilities owns 42.42 miles of 161 kV transmission line in Minnesota. Rochester Public Utilities is one of the eleven members of the CapX group, and is one of the five investors in the Hampton-Rochester-La Crosse CapX project.  Beyond this CapX project, Rochester Public Utilities has no immediate plans for future transmission expansion.

7.16   Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency

Background Information. Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) is a not- for-profit municipal corporation and political subdivision of the State of Minnesota, headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota.  SMMPA was created in 1977, and has eighteen municipally owned utilities as members, located predominantly in south-central and southeastern Minnesota.  SMMPA serves approximately 112,000 retail customers.  In addition, SMMPA is part of a larger regional transmission organization called the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).

More information about SMMPA is available at:  http://www.smmpa.com

Transmission  Lines.  Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency has the following transmission lines in Minnesota:

SMMPA Transmission Lines

7.17   Willmar Municipal Utilities

Background Information. Willmar, a regional center for West Central Minnesota, is located 100 miles west of the Twin Cities. It is the Kandiyohi County Seat with a population of 19,000. Willmar Municipal Utilities maintains an electric system that currently has five distribution substations with 226 miles of distribution lines and 35 miles of transmission lines.

Additional information is available at:  http://wmu.willmar.mn.us

Transmission Lines.  Willmar Municipal Utilities owns 24.16 miles of 69 kV transmission line and 13.05 miles of 230 kV transmission line.