ESCANABA — U.P. Energy Task Force members learned about electric transmission systems in the Upper Peninsula. The group met virtually Tuesday.

The task force was created by an executive order signed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. It is required to submit a report on overall U.P. energy issues and alternatives to the governor by March 31, 2021. In April, it sent the governor its recommendations on propane availability in the peninsula.

Presenter Ken Copp of American Transmission Company (ATC) said the company, which was founded in 2001, was the first multi-state, transmission-only utility in the United States.

“ATC is basically responsible for all of the Upper Peninsula, except for the very far western portions of Gogebic and Ontonagon counties,” he said.

ATC maintains and operates 345 kV, 138 kV and 69 kV transmission lines in the U.P. Kopp clarified the benefits and drawbacks associated with these lines by comparing them to different types of roads.

“We think of the 345 as an interstate highway,” he said, noting this meant these lines are highly efficient — making them ideal for the long-distance transfer of power — but can only directly reach select areas.

Meanwhile, Copp said 138 kV lines are comparable to state and federal two-lane highways.

“You can go a lot more places — lots more crossroads where you can get on and off — but it’s not as efficient,” he said.

Finally, 69 kV lines were described as being like county and township roads.

“It gets you to the very detailed places where you want to go, but you really have to be careful with how long those lines are,” Copp said.

Copp discussed transmission projects ATC has undertaken in the U.P. over the past two decades, as well as the company’s future plans. Between 2011 and 2020, ATC worked on projects meant to compensate for the loss of the Presque Isle Power Plant and a power plant in Escanaba, among others.

Currently, ATC is working on seven projects across the U.P. Looking forward, Copp said areas of the peninsula the company is considering doing some work in include the far eastern and far western U.P.

“Those are the places that I would point to,” he said.

However, more analysis and feedback is needed before any projects in these areas could officially begin.

Presenter Cathy Cole of the Michigan Public Service Commission focused on the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).

“They’re an independent non-profit organization, and they operate in 15 U.S. states and one Canadian province,” Cole said.

According to Cole, MISO has three key functions. These include ensuring the safe and reliable operation of the electric grid, reliably and efficiently operating open energy markets, and working on comprehensive transmission expansion plans.

Cole outlined MISO’s planning principles for transmission projects. MISO’s fundamental goal for these projects is to develop comprehensive plans that meet reliability needs, policy needs and economic needs.

The organization’s planning principles include:

– Developing a transmission plan that meets North American Electric Reliability Corporation and transmission owner planning criteria.

– Making the benefits of an economically efficient electricity market available to customers.

– Analyzing system scenarios and making the results available to state and federal energy policy makers and other stakeholders.

– Providing an appropriate cost allocation mechanism for transmission projects to ensure their costs are roughly in line with their projected benefits.

– Coordinating planning processes with neighbors.

– Supporting state and federal energy policy requirements.

In August 2016, Cole said then-Gov. Rick Snyder and the Michigan Agency for Energy requested that MISO conduct an informational study looking at the potential benefits of transmission and generation expansion in Michigan. MISO was asked to evaluate scenarios in which transmission was expanded between the U.P. and Ontario, as well as to lower Michigan.

However, the transmission expansion scenarios the organization looked at were found to be non-viable.

“They found that the transmission projects that they studied were not economic, and that a generation solution in the eastern U.P. would provide the same amount of benefit at a lower cost,” Cole said.

Along with the presentations from Copp and Cole, the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting included time for a task force work session and public comments.