Xcel wants to reroute power lines in Iron County

HURLEY - Xcel Energy officials provided the Iron County Board of Supervisors with An outline of a proposal to reroute transmission lines through northern Iron County at their meeting Tuesday in Hurley. The power lines in question run between Ironwood and Ashland, Wisconsin, crossing U.S. 2 near the Saxon Pump substation before crossing the highway again on the Bad River reservation. Xcel says The lines are nearing the end of their lifespans and they present some challenges for Xcel crews, primarily access. The company has already met with Ashland County officials, they said, and is planning to hold a series of public information meetings around the area in October. Matt McFarlane, with the company’s Eau Claire office, said the project involves two elevated lines one built in 1952 that described as being in “very poor condition,” and another built in 1976 and described as getting to the end of its lifespan that would be combined into a single project. Xcel wants to reroute the lines, each of which is approximately 35 miles — because approximately 90% of the existing lines are deemed inaccessible or difficult to access due primarily to running over rivers, wetlands and other difficult terrain. Going forward, Xcel hopes to file an application with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission for the project by this time next year, with approval hopefully coming sometime in 2021. Under the timeline laid out Tuesday, construction wouldn’t start until 2024. The company would begin removing the old lines and letting the corridors return to a more natural setting following the completion of the project, according to the presentation