4 years, 10 months ago by Scott Hardy
Illinois-based Invenergy to acquire line set to run through Monroe, Ralls counties
The Missouri Public Service Commission has approved the sale of a company that is planning to build a high-voltage power line across the state, including in Monroe and Ralls Counties.
The PSC Wednesday voted unanimously to approve the sale of the Grain Belt Express line to Illinois-based Invenergy Transmission. A statement from the PSC says that the sale benefits the project, which "also benefits the state of Missouri and the public interest." That 435 kV line will bring wind-generated electricity from western Kansas across Missouri and Illinois before terminating in Indiana. The PSC granted approval for the project earlier this year, in part due to an estimated $9.5 to $11 million a year in savings for numerous electric customers of the Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission. Those municipalities, which includes Hannibal, plan to use up to 250 megawatts from the line once it's completed. The Commission says that Invenergy will have to provide the same protections to landowners that Grain Belt promised before receiving approval.
County governments in all eight counties in the path of the line continue to oppose it, and the PSC's approval of the line is being appealed in court.
