Refer to Table ZS-2 and Figure ZS-6

Summary of key findings 

• In the 2014 study year, potential constraints were identified occurring broadly across the U.P. Most of the identified issues have either a mitigation plan or project associated with them. Please refer to Table ZS-2 (Project or Mitigation column) for details.

Low bus voltages emerge in the eastern U.P. for the outage of the Livingston-Emmett 138-kV line or the Keystone-Ludington 345-kV line. In the short term, these constraints can be mitigated by adjustments taken at existing facilities as modeled:

• available generation increases,
• transformer tap adjustments,
• capacitor bank regulation, and/or
• the currently utilized procedure of splitting the system in the eastern U.P. (for several contingencies in the U.P. and Lower Peninsula of Michigan).

Longer term, more robust solutions, involving upgrades, rebuilds, and/or new construction is possible, and will be presented fully in the ATC Energy Collaborative - Michigan section. This section presents a Strategic Flexibility approach to the multiple factors emerging across the U.P.