American Transmission Co. placed in service last week a new 345-kV transmission line in Wisconsin from the Columbia Power Plant to the North Madison Substation in Vienna and will begin construction this month on four miles of 138-kV transmission lines on Madison’s east side. Both projects are part of a US$110-million investment ATC is making in Dane County on electric transmission facilities to be placed in service between 2002 and 2007.

“These are critical short-term upgrades to Dane County’s transmission network,” said Mark Williamson, ATC vice president of major projects. “They buy us a bit of time to work on our larger projects.”

The Columbia-North Madison project added a second 345-kV line on existing poles and will help improve the reliability of electric service in Dane County. On Madison’s east side, the Femrite-Sprecher transmission line project will help support local electricity needs and back up other critical facilities on the system. Both projects also will transport power across the network from Calpine’s Riverside Energy Center in Beloit.

“It is an accomplishment for us to complete a complex 345-kV project,” said Williamson. “When we have to take portions of the system out of service to do this work, we place the system in a vulnerable state where we have very narrow windows of opportunity to complete construction and no margin for unexpected problems.” He added, “We finished this project ahead of schedule and under budget.”

Construction begins April 10 and will last approximately four months on the underground portion of the Femrite-Sprecher project, running along Buckeye Road east of the Interstate 90 and Sprecher Road to the substation just north of Cottage Grove Road. Construction begins in August on the overhead portion of the project from the Femrite Substation on Femrite Drive to I-90 and Buckeye Road.

Preliminary routes for other proposed projects in Dane County, including a 345-kV transmission line between Christiana and the town of Middleton, are expected to be announced in late May.