GRE and MP Savanna HVTL Project

Great River Energy and Minnesota Power (Applicants) are applying to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for a Certificate of Need and a Route Permit to construct the new Savanna 115 kilovolt (kV) Switching Station near Floodwood, Minnesota, and to rebuild approximately 37 total miles of existing 69 kV transmission line to 115 kV specifications between:

• Lake Country Powers existing Cedar Valley Substation and the new Savanna Switching Station, and

• The Savanna Switching Station, Lake Country Powers existing Gowan Substation, and Great River Energys existing Cromwell Substation. 

The Applicants propose to construct the 115 kV lines along the same route as the existing 69 kV line and to construct the new Savanna Switching Station in Section 32 of Van Buren Township, a few miles northeast of Floodwood, Minnesota.  The Applicants anticipate start of construction as early as late 2011, completion and energize the segment between the Cedar Valley Substation and the Savanna Switching Station in 2012, and completion and energize the rest of the Project by summer 2014.

The PUC docket numbers for the CON and HVTL Route Permit are ET2, E015/CN-10-973 and ET2, E015/TL-10-1307, respectively.