ITC Michigan tells Senate committee statewide transmission build will expand capacity, cost billions

ITC Michigan executives told the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment on Oct. 12, 2025, that an expanding, higher-voltage transmission backbone will give Michigan greater access to the regional wholesale market, support new generation interconnections and increase system resiliency.

The presentation, led by Chuck Marshall, president of ITC Michigan, and Tony Masseso, Manager of State Government Affairs for ITC Holdings, described recent Midcontinent ISO (MISO) portfolio projects called Tranche 1 and Tranche 2.1 and the state-level work needed to site and build new high-voltage lines, including an interstate connection the company called the Helix–Hypo tie to Indiana.

Why it matters: The projects aim to increase import capability into Michigan and to enable faster generator interconnections, which ITC said can help expand competitive supply and could reduce wholesale prices for Michigan customers in some conditions. Committee members asked about timelines, landowner engagement, permitting, electromagnetic field setbacks and compensation for easements.

Marshall said ITCperforms only transmission work and keeps reliability metrics high: "Transmission is all we do," he said, adding that the companyregularly ranks in the 90th percentile for system reliability. "System resiliency is the ability to kind of weather the storm but it's more than that," Marshall said, describing restoration capacity after damage as part of resiliency.

Tony Masseso added: "We're the nation's largest independent transmission company," and said ITC is headquartered in Novi and operates in multiple Midwest states.

What ITC described

- Scope and scale: ITC said MISO's long-range transmission plan (LRTP) includes a multi-state backbone portfolio. Company slides cited a roughly $22 billion Midwest portfolio for Tranche 2.1 and said about $2.7 billion of that portfolio is sited in Michigan (noted by the presenter as the Michigan share). Tranche 1 projects in Michigan were described as just under 100 miles of greenfield lines; Tranche 2.1 was described on the slides as about 300 miles of 345 kV and about 70 miles of 765 kV greenfield construction in the Midwest portions shown on the company map.

- Capacity effects: Marshall said moving from 345 kV to 765 kV increases the transmission "pipeline" capacity by roughly six times for a given corridor. The earlier tranche connection to Indiana increased import capability by about 30 percent, the presentation said.

- Siting and design choices: ITC emphasized a planning approach that combines targeted greenfield builds with technology that can increase capacity on existing corridors. The company cited a Majestic-to-Wayne County project in which use of a high-temperature, low-sag conductor and other "grid-enhancing technologies" saved the project an estimated $55 million to $60 million compared with a full rebuild, according to the presentation.

- Timeline and process: Marshall described multi-year lead times. He summarized pre-filing study work and stakeholder planning in MISO as beginning years earlier, then noted about 12 months of preparatory work before a formal state siting proceeding, a separate roughly 12-month state proceeding in Michigan, and additional engineering, procurement and construction phases that together create a long runway measured in multiple years. When asked for specific in-service dates, the presentation noted phased commissioning as part of the LRTP but did not provide a single definitive in-service date for all projects.

Committee concerns and company responses

- Permitting and landowner engagement: When Vice Chair Senator Singh asked what the state could do to accelerate delivery, Marshall identified permitting and real-estate negotiations as two of the largest impediments. He said Michiganallows earlier engagement with landowners (before a public information meeting and final route filing) and that approach can reduce conflicts compared with states that limit early engagement.

- Compensation and easements: Marshall said ITC seeks voluntary easement agreements and that the company typically pays the full market value for land rights even when it takes an easement rather than the land fee. He contrasted that approach with other industry practices that sometimes pay a fraction of land value.

- Local impacts and EMF/setbacks: Senator Schenck, who said there are ITC lines near his farm, asked about buffers and electromagnetic field (EMF) impacts for existing homes. Marshall said standards are designed to achieve equivalent impacts regardless of voltage and that corridor widths commonly used are about 200 feet for higher-voltage lines; he agreed to provide more specific setback and EMF data to the senator.

- Reliability and market benefits: Senators asked whether the investments would reduce outages or lower rates. Marshall said the grid is interconnected and that broader access to the competitive wholesale market can increase competition and put downward pressure on prices, although he did not commit to a guaranteed rate reduction. He cited Winter Storm Uri as an example of cross-regional flows and the value of interconnections.

- Queue reform and generator interconnections: The company said MISO has advanced tranche work and is pursuing generator interconnection queue reforms to speed how projects move from study to construction; Marshall emphasized that generation must be able to connect to the new transmission to realize the benefits.

Clarifying details recorded from the presentation and Q&A

- Tranche 1: described as just under 100 miles of greenfield transmission in Michigan (presenter slide) - Tranche 2.1 (Midwest portfolio): presenter cited about $22,000,000,000 portfolio; Michigan portion cited as about $2,700,000,000 on company slides - Tranche 2.1 technical metrics cited on slides: ~300 miles of 345 kV and ~70 miles of 765 kV (greenfield) - Helix–Hypo line: identified as the first interstate transmission-level connection for Michigan in about 50 years and credited with raising import capability ~30% (presenter remarks) - Reconductoring savings example: presenter cited an estimated $55,000,000–$60,000,000 savings on one Majestic-to-Wayne County project by using high-temperature, low-sag conductor instead of full rebuild - Typical corridor width mentioned by presenter: ~200 feet for higher-voltage lines (company comment; senator requested specific EMF info) - Rough cost metric offered in Q&A: a mile of 345 kV was described as roughly $4 million–$5 million per mile by the presenter - Company approach to land rights: voluntary easements with payment at "full value" of property (company statement); industry comparison (some utilities pay 50% of property value) was given by the presenter - Staging/timeline: presenter described about 12 months of preparatory work before a state proceeding, about 12 months for the state process, and additional engineering/procurement/construction phases; overall program requires multiple years

Actions and formal committee business

1) Adoption of committee rules (20252026 committee rules): Vice Chair Senator Singh moved to adopt the committee rules for 2025 nd the Clerk recorded 8 yeas, 0 nays; the rules were adopted. (Vote recorded on the transcript; 8yeas, 0nays.)

2) Motion to excuse absent members: A motion was made and, by unanimous voice/no objection, absent members were excused.

Ending

Committee members thanked the presenters and asked for follow-up detail on EMF setbacks, corridor widths and scheduling; ITC offered to provide additional information and to host members at its Novi command center. The committee had no other business and adjourned.