Cost overruns have been noted by American Transmission Company in a filing with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. The new 138 kV transmission line, intended to serve expanding demand near Plymouth, has been under construction since October following years of planning and debate.
A quarterly progress report filed with the PSC last Thursday said that the planned in-service date is only about a month away with substation construction now complete and overhead line work over 80 percent completed. But not all is smooth sailing.
ATC said in its filing that the project will likely exceed the authorized estimated budget of just over $13.5 million ($13,504,179); the company said that, largely due to legal challenges and related delays, the project has now incurred an overrun of $6,176,302, or nearly half of its original estimated cost.
One other major hurdle remains before the power begins flowing: the acquisition of two needed properties is tied up in Sheboygan County Circuit Court. While agreement has been reached with one of those landowners, the other remains stalled. Also, the Court has not referred the cases to the County for condemnation, nor granted ATC immediate possession.
ATC said that without resolution in the court, then a critical June 1-6 outage window that’s required for final energization would be missed, likely pushing the next date to activate the new service into August. Any delays, it said, could incur additional costs of between $460,000 and $545,000.
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