ICC Approves ComEd’s Grand Prairie Gateway Project
October 22 2014 - 6:02PM
Business Wire
New transmission line to create customer
savings, provide access to clean energy
The Illinois Commerce Commission today announced it has approved
ComEd’s Grand Prairie Gateway Project, a new transmission line that
will extend for 60 miles across Ogle, Dekalb, Kane and DuPage
Counties. The new line will create immediate customer savings by
reducing grid congestion, increasing customers’ access to
lower-cost generation, including wind power, and will reduce carbon
emissions by 473,000 tons over 15 years. Construction is scheduled
to begin in the second quarter of next year and the line is
expected to be in service in 2017.
“As the competitive electricity market expands, transmission
lines become congested over time, just like highways do as the
communities around them grow,” said Terence Donnelly, ComEd
executive vice president and COO. “This congestion impedes the flow
of low-cost energy, increasing the cost of delivering that energy
to our customers, and we’re obligated to solve that problem. We are
pleased that the Commission has recognized the need for this
important new line, which will offset those increases just as soon
as it’s energized.”
The line will expand ComEd customers’ access to generation by
approximately 1,000 megawatts, providing greater access to clean
energy. “Congestion on the system is inhibiting the lowest cost
generating plants – like wind – from getting power to customers
that want it,” said Sean Brady, regional policy manager of Wind on
the Wires. “These bottlenecks force wind farms to operate less
efficiently and restrain the future development of more
environmentally friendly wind generation in Illinois, so this
project will further promote a competitive marketplace and the
continued growth of wind power.”
The 345,000 volt (345kV) electric transmission line will be
constructed between ComEd’s existing substations near the
communities of Byron and Wayne. The route would begin at the Byron
substation and run east until east of Plato Center in Kane County,
where the line would run southeast along railroad corridors to the
substation near Wayne. The project adds a third major transmission
path across the ComEd territory, which also enhances reliability,
particularly during extreme weather events.
The need for the Project was first identified as part of the
annual regional planning process managed by PJM, the independent
Regional Transmission Organization that plans and operates the
ComEd transmission system. PJM is responsible for ensuring that the
competitive wholesale market operates appropriately and fairly for
customers and it’s regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC).
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based
Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive
energy provider, with approximately 6.6 million customers. ComEd
provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across
northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population.
ComEd Media Relations(312) 394-3500
Exelon (NYSE:EXC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Exelon (NYSE:EXC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024