Project Overview

ATC completed a 6-mile, 138-kilovolt transmission line to connect the new Oak Ridge Substation in Fitchburg with an existing substation in Verona located near the intersection of Highways M and PB. The route that was approved by the PSC in January 2008 runs primarily along fish Hatchery Road, Adams Road and Highway M. 

The new Oak Ridge Substation has been constructed on a site near the intersection of Fish Hatchery and Irish Lane. It was placed in service and began serving Fitchburg customers May 2009. 

The final cost of the transmission line and the new substation came in at $18.8 million, below the PSC approved budget. This new line is essential to strengthening maintaining reliability in the rapidly growing areas of southern Dane County and northern Green County, where usage is growing at an annual rate greater than the statewide average.

ATC originally proposed in 2005 an electric solution to construct a new 138-kilovolt transmission line between Fitchburg and Montrose, which also would have included the construction of two new substations. During the routing and siting process, ATC reevaluated the project based on public input and determined that an alternative solution between Fitchburg and Verona solved the electrical problem while minimizing the amount of new right-of-way that would be needed for the line.