ITC Takes a Leadership Role in Modernizing Michigan?s Electrical Grid

NOVI – There is no doubt that dependable electricity is indispensable to modern life and is the backbone of our economy. From cell phones to social networks, from manufacturing plants to data centers, we all depend on the power that makes today?s increasingly connected lifestyles possible.

ITC delivers that power. We are unique in that we are the only fully independent electricity transmission company in the country. High-voltage transmission is our sole focus. Think of us as similar to the Interstate Highway System ? we transport bulk electricity over long distances, from generation sources (the ?on-ramps?) to local distribution substations (the ?off-ramps?) where we hand off the energy to your local retail distribution company.

From our headquarters in Novi and our regional offices across our territories, we concentrate on planning, building, operating and investing in high-value, highly-reliable electric transmission for our customers and communities. We own and operate more than 15,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines in seven states in the Midwest and Great Plains regions, including 8,600 miles of lines here in Michigan. We provide efficient, reliable, cost-effective transmission of electricity to where it?s needed, regardless of generation source.

Since our inception in 2003, ITC has made capital investments in our business of approximately $4.4 billion, $2.5 billion of which has been invested in Michigan?s high-voltage grid. And those investments have paid off, with our Michigan systems performing among the top 10 percent nationally for reliability.

ITC?s investments also improve the flexibility of the grid to meet tomorrow?s demands. Among those changing demands are public policy requirements for more renewable energy.

One great example here in Michigan goes back to October 2008 when Michigan passed the Clean, Renewable and Efficient Energy Act (Public Act 295), which created the Wind Energy Resource Zone Board to study and identify regions with the highest wind potential. The Board?s final report identified the state?s Thumb area as having the highest potential for wind energy in the state. In accordance with PA 295, ITC submitted a plan for additional transmission lines needed to accommodate future wind development projects in the Thumb. In February 2011 the Michigan Public Service Commission authorized ITC to construct the lines in the Thumb region. Thus the ?Thumb Loop? project was born, the largest undertaking in ITC?s history.

As you can image, a lot of technology went into designing The Thumb Loop project, which traces the outline of the Thumb region with a ?backbone? system of 140 miles of 345,000-volt lines and four substations capable of transmitting up to 5,000 megawatts (MW) of energy. To put that number into perspective, an average-size wind farm may produce 100 to 150 MW. Thumb Loop construction started in 2012 and is about two-thirds complete. The remainder will be finished in 2015. As the Thumb Loop has gone online in stages, new wind farms have connected to the system, enabling delivery of renewable energy to the rest of the state. The Thumb Loop also bolsters the overall reliability of the grid in the Thumb region.

ITC?s laser focus on reliable and efficient transmission helps lead the modernization of the nation?s power grid and creates the foundation for a vibrant, robust economy and a more competitive Michigan and America. We enable electricity market competition, delivering lower costs for customers over the long run.

Brian Slocum is Vice President of Engineering at Novi-based ITC Holdings Corp., the largest independent electricity transmission company in the country. ITC owns and operates high-voltage transmission systems in Michigan?s Lower Peninsula and portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.