Illinois Commerce Commission approves Ameren route with edits for MISO tranche 1 transmission project

The Illinois Commerce Commission on July 2 approved a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) for Ameren Illinois and Ameren Transmission Company to implement the Illinois portion of MISO27s long-range transmission planning tranche 1, with substantive edits to the order clarifying route choices and environmental mitigation expectations.

The commission27s order, issued under sections 8-406, 8-503 and 7-102 of the Illinois Public Utilities Act, "grants the CPCN and related approvals," adopts PTLG27s alternate route 2 based on a review of the 12 routing factors, and approves the petitioners27 proposed route generally while noting certain alternative-route segments. The edits instruct the joint petitioners to consider the alternate route segments where those routes have lesser impacts on homes and structures.

The commission27s edits also clarified the application of the routing factor related to community acceptance and authorized "minor adjustments to the route to accommodate landowners, so long as the minor adjustments are consistent with the commission approved route or agreed to by all affected landowners." The commission explicitly stated that the authorization for minor adjustments "is not a blanket waiver of commission approval" and that any major adjustments remain subject to commission review and approval.

The order details potential environmental impacts of one alternate route and "encourages the joint petitioners to seek to mitigate the environmental impacts through engineering and construction design." Commissioners also encouraged petitioners to share environmental-impact analyses or mitigation activities recommended by federal and state agencies with commission staff. The order acknowledges that environmental surveying is ongoing.

Chair Scott moved the edits; Commissioner Riddick seconded. After a question-and-answer period and no recorded objections, the edits and the order were approved as edited. The commission did not record a roll-call vote on the order in the portion of the transcript addressing this item.

The commission27s approval allows Ameren and Ameren Transmission Company to proceed with the Illinois portion of the MISO tranche 1 project subject to the conditions and review described in the edited order.