Representatives of Great River Energy and ITC Midwest presented the Power On Midwest transmission study to the Waseca County Board on Dec. 2, saying the project is an "interstate-scale" transmission line designed to maintain long-term reliability across southern Minnesota and the Midwest.

"If you're gonna use a road analogy, we use a lot of road analogies in the electric industry. It is the equivalent of a new interstate highway," Matt Dallas of Great River Energy said during the presentation, describing the project's scale and purpose.

Presenters said Power On Midwest is at an early study stage; the current study area touches only the extreme southeastern corner of Waseca County. Staff from ITC Midwest described possible structure types (lattice towers or monopoles), typical structure heights (roughly 150to 175 feet for some lattice designs), anticipated easement footprints (on the order of 250 feet), and span lengths that can exceed 1,000 feet between structures. They also said land underneath facilities generally remains usable for agricultural purposes.

The utilities outlined the regulatory and outreach timeline: a Certificate of Need is expected to be filed with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in early 2026, followed by scoping and public open houses that year; route permitting work would follow in 2027-28, with construction currently targeted in the early 2030s. Presenters said the utilities will first propose routes and route options; the Public Utilities Commission will later select a final route and, only as a last resort, has authority to approve forced easements for a contiguous path when voluntary agreements are not reached.

Commissioners asked about potential use of eminent-domain authority, impacts to local substations and property taxes, and how new generators (wind, solar or gas) would connect. Presenters said the line is generation-agnostic and that substation expansions would likely occur at or adjacent to existing Great River Energy and ITC properties near Pleasant Valley and Lakefield.

Presenters encouraged landowners to attend upcoming open houses and to use the project's website and contact channels for updates and to submit local knowledge about wetlands, habitat, or other constraints. No regulatory filings or binding approvals were requested from the board at the Dec. 2 meeting.