Midwest ISO Study Results Consistent with ITC's Green Power Express
December 14 2009 - 4:10PM
PR Newswire (US)
Midwest ISO Study Shows High Voltage Transmission Backbone Needed
To Integrate Significant Renewable Energy NOVI, Mich., Dec. 14
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A recently released study by the Midwest
Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc. (Midwest ISO)
demonstrates that a high-voltage electric transmission solution is
necessary to address the growth of renewable energy resources in
the Upper Midwest and the need to move these resources farther east
to load centers, according to ITC Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ITC). ITC
proposed such a solution in February 2009 with The Green Power
Express, an extra-high voltage electric transmission project. The
Midwest ISO released Phase I of its Regional Generation Outlet
Study (RGOS) on Friday, December 11, as part of its ongoing
transmission planning effort. "The Midwest ISO study verifies that
a robust electric transmission system is necessary to address the
nation's desire to grow its renewable energy sources," said Joseph
L. Welch, chairman, president and CEO of ITC. "The RGOS study
confirms that a technical solution, similar to what we have
proposed with The Green Power Express, is needed, which is exactly
what our own studies identified more than two years ago. A
high-voltage transmission backbone such as The Green Power Express
would provide the flexibility necessary to support a variety of
energy policy scenarios. Regardless of any inputs or assumptions
used, studies continue to show the value of a high-voltage electric
transmission backbone." John Bear, president and CEO of the Midwest
ISO, said improved grid reliability and increased efficiencies are
already providing the Midwest ISO region with significant cost
savings, with more to come. "Over the next ten years, the region
will receive between $5.5 and $7.1 billion in benefits on a net
present value basis," he said. "Through the creation of a
transparent wholesale energy market as renewable energy zones are
linked to load centers, we can avoid costly congestion while
allowing the integration of significant amounts of power from the
wind-rich Upper Midwest." The Midwest ISO RGOS process identified
that an extra-high voltage overlay would help address the
reliability needs in the region while supporting the
interconnection of a significant amount of additional renewable
resources. Welch said many of the overlay segments identified by
the Midwest ISO closely match - electrically, and in some cases
geographically - the segments that ITC proposed for The Green Power
Express. ITC unveiled The Green Power Express earlier this year as
an electric transmission backbone capable of transmitting more than
12,000 megawatts of energy and spanning seven states in the Upper
Midwest, where wind energy interconnections continue to increase.
Welch said ITC will continue to work with the Midwest ISO, state
agencies, federal agencies and other stakeholders to adequately
address the nation's need for a robust transmission system as
quickly as possible. About ITC Holdings Corp. ITC Holdings Corp.
(NYSE:ITC) invests in the electricity transmission grid to improve
electric reliability, improve access to markets, and lower the
overall cost of delivered energy. ITC is the largest independent
electricity transmission company in the country. Through its
subsidiaries, ITCTransmission, Michigan Electric Transmission
Company (METC) and ITC Midwest, ITC operates contiguous, regulated,
high-voltage transmission systems in Michigan's Lower Peninsula and
portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri, serving a
combined peak load in excess of 25,000 megawatts. ITC is also
focused on new areas where significant transmission system
improvements are needed through subsidiaries ITC Grid Development,
ITC Great Plains and ITC Panhandle Transmission. For more
information, please visit: http://www.itctransco.com/. (itc-ITC)
DATASOURCE: ITC Holdings Corp. CONTACT: Pat Wenzel,
Investor/Analyst Contact, +1-248-946-3570, ; or Robert J. Darmanin,
Media Contact, +1-248-946-3493, Web Site:
http://www.itctransco.com/
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