PSC hearing held for proposed transmission line

The North Dakota Public Service Commission (NDPSC) held a hearing on Feb. 1 in Williston, North Dakota, to consider a 15-mile high-voltage transmission line proposed by Basin Electric. The 345-kilovolt line would connect the Pioneer Generation Station Phase IV (PGSIV) project to the Judson substation near Williston. Basin Electric is seeking a Certificate of Corridor Compatibility and Route Permit from the NDPSC.

Philip Westby, Basin Electric manager of Transmission Services, stated the line is necessary to transmit power from the units under construction at PGSIV to the grid that serves Basin Electric’s member cooperatives. “The existing 115-kilovolt infrastructure in the area is not able to handle this amount of power,” he said.

Basin Electric project team members provided testimony about the proposed line and answered questions from the NDPSC administrative law judge and staff. Witnesses included Westby; Bobby Nasset, supervisor of Civil Engineering and project manager; Erin Dukart, director of Environmental Services; and Mike Murray, director of Property and Right-of-Way. Anine Merkens, senior staff counsel, served as legal counsel for the project at the hearing.

The hearing provided an opportunity for the public to voice support or concerns regarding the project. Pending the NDPSC’s ruling on the project, construction on the line would begin this spring and be completed by the end of the year.