Keep Power Line Plans On Track
Wisconsin State Journal :: OPINION :: A6
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
A proposal to build
high-voltage power lines through an urban area is bound to be met by
high-voltage opposition.
Who wants giant power lines in their back yard?
But the opposition to plans for new power lines in Dane County
has generated more heat than light.
The latest example is the referendum that county voters will see
on the Nov. 7 ballot asking if an independent group should study
whether more high-voltage power lines are needed.
Underlying the advisory referendum is the implication that no
independent study has been conducted to support new high-voltage
lines around Madison. That's simply not true. Such a study was
conducted; the opponents just didn't like the result.
The referendum highlights the myths the opponents are peddling in
hopes of discrediting the power line proposals.
Myth: The study supporting new power lines is tainted because it
was bought and paid for by American Transmission Co., the business
that profits from transmitting electricity.
Fact: American Transmission Co. joined three utilities and five
environmental and consumer groups in a good-faith effort to study
Dane County's energy needs and how best to meet them. The Citizens
Utility Board, a consumer advocacy organization, contracted with a
respected Middleton consulting firm, MSB Associates, to conduct the
technical review. ATC underwrote the project because no other source
of money was available.
The same procedure was used to study ATC plans for Waukesha
County. That study resulted in ATC postponing plans for a new power
line -- a conclusion that demonstrated the independence of the
process.
Myth: The Dane County study is wrong because it was based solely
on a high-growth forecast for electricity demand, which has since
been lowered.
Fact: The study looked at what would happen if the use of
electricity grew 3.75 percent per year. Then it looked at a
lower-growth scenario of 2.75 percent per year. Under both
conditions, new power lines were needed.
Dane County is Wisconsin's fastest growing county, by number of
people gained per year. Census estimates show the county's
population swelled by 31,580 from 2000 to 2005.
ATC is now projecting growth in electricity demand of 3.2 percent
per year.
Myth: The study failed to consider the impact conservation,
improved energy efficiency and better management of peak demand can
have on eliminating the need for new power lines.
Fact: The study looked at conservation, energy efficiency, demand
management and other alternatives. It concluded that all those
options should be pursued, but barring an unforeseen dramatic change
in consumption, new power lines would still be needed.
That's just a sample of the distortions that have pushed the
power line debate off point.
Opponents would be far smarter to join with ATC and the other
parties involved in the study to call for Wisconsin to create a
better, more comprehensive energy planning process. That process
should build on the collaboration ATC, CUB and others began in the
power line study for Dane County but should be made a regular
element of the PSC review process.
Planning should focus on an examination of the future, allowing
for energy efficiency, demand management, power lines and power
plants all to be considered simultaneously.
Meantime, the ATC power line proposals for Dane County should go
forward to be considered by the PSC, unhindered by distortion and
myth.
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