Introduction

ATC is Investing to Meet Evolving Customer Needs

At ATC, we’re committed to delivering sustained value to our customers, stakeholders and the communities we serve. As we leverage best-value planning to connect new energy sources and new customers to the system, we strive to make strategic investments, adapt to our customers’ evolving needs and enable long-term success in the communities we serve. As we look forward to the next ten years, ATC remains committed to building and maintaining an adaptable transmission system to power a rapidly evolving energy future. 

A robust electric grid is essential to ensure reliable, affordable, sustainable and secure energy for customers and communities. As a regional grid operator, we are committed to maintaining a safe and reliable electric system in the Upper Midwest. We establish access to all forms of power generation, providing reliable, accessible energy to the communities we serve. We work closely with our local electric distribution customers to provide best-value solutions and plan for a system that supports their needs – and the needs of their energy consumers

ATC is Enabling Change

How energy is generated has changed significantly and will continue to shift as technology develops and as government policy influences the existing resource mix. Wind and solar generation installations introduced during the past decade are smaller and more geographically diverse than coal, nuclear and natural gas-powered units. Additionally, producing energy powered by the sun or wind changes the ability of grid operators to match energy production to customer demand. More controllable generation sources, such as those powered by natural gas, are needed to help balance the supply and demand of energy. In the coming decade, ATC will connect various generation types and dozens of utility-scale battery energy storage systems to the grid to help bridge the gap between the timing of available energy resources and the timing of customer energy use.  

On the customer side, a decade-plus of stable demand has come to an end as we enter a new era of significant electric load growth driven by large new loads such as data centers that will feed our nation’s ever-growing appetite for computing capability to improve productivity through data analytics and artificial intelligence tools. This growth in demand, as well as the variable nature of the new demand, has engineers at ATC and across the country working hard to continue to plan a safe and reliable system as cost-effectively as possible. 

ATC is Leading the Way

ATC continues to approach these industry shifts with a forward-thinking mindset. As an industry leader, we think proactively about the challenges brought by the change in energy generation mix and the addition of new large loads.  

Wind, solar and energy storage installations bring new challenges based on the power electronics that connect them to the grid, while new large loads can have unique operating characteristics that introduce new challenges as well. ATC engineers are at the forefront of the electric industry in determining how best to cost-effectively maintain system stability and reliability in the face of these challenges.  

During the past two years, our team has collaborated with other industry experts to develop and publish new interconnection guidelines for renewable generation and large loads, ensuring system reliability for existing and new customers alike. This proactive thinking helps us anticipate challenges and create innovative solutions to protect the grid. 

ATC’s Role in Regional Planning Builds a Stronger Regional Grid

Utilities are working collaboratively through MISO, the regional transmission organization, to meet customers’ changing needs across the region. To enable this collaboration and cooperation, the backbone of the system must undergo significant reinforcement. ATC’s engagement in MISO’s Long Range Transmission Planning (LRTP) process identified new backbone transmission line projects that provide local and regional benefits. The cost of these “multi-value projects,” including new lines and substations, is shared throughout the states of the upper Midwest comprising the MISO North Region. For ATC’s service territory, customers within our footprint will enjoy the significant local benefits of projects that pay for themselves many times over. 

ATC is Working to Get the Most out of Our Infrastructure 

Alongside poles and wires, Grid Enhancing Technologies – or GETS – are another tool to help utilities meet the future needs of the grid. GETS examples include: 

• Flow-Control Devices help operators manage system flows to protect equipment from overloads. 
• Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) technology, such as our Waupaca Area Storage Project. 
• Static Var Compensator (SVC): In service at Benson Lake and maintaining voltage control in northeast Wisconsin. 
• Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM): These devices provide voltage control and system stability benefits in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and are coming soon to various locations in Wisconsin. 
• Dynamic Line Ratings: We are investing in research to maximize the use of existing transmission capacity. 
• Advanced Conductors can carry more power than conventional conductors to avoid overloads. We are installing our first composite core conductor this fall on a pair of transmission lines in south-central Wisconsin. 

ATC Leverages Technology to Monitor and Maintain the Grid

The introduction of new digital technology also brings opportunities for more advanced monitoring. As we harness the power of data, we can make better informed decisions and more effectively allocate resources.  

ATC has expanded the implementation of online transformer monitoring. Like a blood test at the doctor’s office, the fluid within a transformer can be analyzed to determine the health of the equipment. With an online monitor, the analysis can be almost continuous, giving us advanced warning of deteriorating equipment conditions.  

Our asset renewal program will continue to address the long-term reliability of the grid, driven in large part by the need for wood pole replacements. The grid experienced significant growth in the 1960s and 1970s, and now those facilities are coming to end-of-life. ATC is actively managing rebuilds of this large amount of equipment to maintain system reliability. Many of these rebuilds are being completed as part of our long-range transmission plan, preserving time and resources for our stakeholders and reducing the impact on local communities.  

ATC’s Project Infrastructure Investments are Growing to Meet Expanding Customer Needs 

Each of the projects identified within this 10-year assessment is driven by need. As we adapt to our ever-evolving energy landscape, ATC remains steadfast in its mission to deliver secure and affordable power to your community and others across the country for a sustainable energy future. 

Projections from past and current Transmission System Assessments