Ameren’s proposed transmission line would provide support for power grid around Highland

A proposed power transmission line was the subject of several public meetings between Ameren and residents in and around Highland this month.

Ameren is proposing to build a 138 kilovolt transmission line to connect its existing Aviston substation in Clinton County to the new Sursee substation to be located west of Highland in Madison County. The Aviston substation would be upgraded, and the new line would provide support for the power grid around Highland, according to Ameren.

“The main benefit is stability,” said Highland City Manager Chris Conrad. “It provides redundant sources of power to both substations.”

That redundancy is important, Conrad said, because right now Highland is on a single line all the way from Collinsville — a line that was constructed in 1998.

“At some point it’s going to have to be serviced and re-conductored, and it will have to be out of service,” he said. “We would like to have a redundant power source when that happens.”

There’s another benefit to having new lines through the region besides redundancy, according to Dan Cook, director of light and power for Highland. The nation’s power grid is currently set up to dispense power from large-scale power plants, with residual loss of energy in long-distance transmission.

But the future is in solar and wind power, he said, which relies on smaller fields scattered throughout the country. A modern power grid needs to be able to collect that energy as well, and transmit it to the user.

“There’s a lot of benefit to having our grid less segmented and more connected, because you’ll also reduce system loss, which means you don’t have to produce as much power,” Cook said.

While Conrad said some residents have expressed concern for their properties, none of the proposed routes have been decided yet. Five alternative corridors of 500 feet wide have been suggested, but the actual path is only 100 feet wide and none of them have been chosen yet.

“All of the paths have their pros and cons,” Conrad said. “The only thing that has been decided is there’s an option on a piece of property for the Highland substation.”

Conrad also pointed out, in the future, some farmers might find it will be more lucrative to lease part of their land for solar energy than to plant crops on it, and having the grid closer to their property will make it more attractive to solar companies.

Cook said it will also help attract business, as major data centers require a stable, high-energy grid.

Ameren held open house in-person public comment meetings last week, including meetings in Highland, Summerfield and Aviston.

“As with the first phase of public meetings, community input is crucial to this project,” said Jim Jontry, project manager for the Sursee-Aviston transmission line. “The feedback received at our in-person and virtual open houses is foundational to building a project that will ultimately provide more safe, affordable, reliable and cleaner energy to homes and businesses in the Highland and Aviston areas.”

What’s next?

Next, Ameren will submit their plan to the Illinois Commerce Commission, including proposed routes for the transmission line. The ICC would decide sometime in the spring whether the project is needed and which route will be the most appropriate. Technically the ICC could grant Ameren the power to take land through eminent domain, but Conrad said Ameren usually prefers to negotiate with the landowners.

“The thing people need to keep in mind is, I don’t think there’s any person or entity that is trying to take away property or lower their values,” Conrad said. “But this is about the greater good of all the communities involved, not just Highland.”

If approved, the line would be brought in service and supplying power to local communities by December 2025.

To see the map of possible routes and/or to submit a comment to Ameren online, go to https://sursee-avistonprojectresources.com.