ICC OKs construction of power lines

From the Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

ICC OKs construction of power lines
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com

HUNTLEY – Village officials are reeling after the Illinois Commerce Commission approved a ComEd request to build power lines near Huntley's Wing Pointe subdivision Wednesday.

The ICC gave a unanimous stamp of approval to the request during a bench session in Chicago. The decision allows ComEd to build, operate and maintain a 138,000-volt electric transmission line through a residential area in Huntley.

"The village and our residents deserve better," Village Manager David Johnson said. "We spent a lot of time proving there's an alternative route that is superior to ComEd's proposed route."

The Huntley Village Board has opposed the power line route since its proposal in May 2007. The line would extend 12 miles along the south side of Interstate 90 before turning north in Rutland Township, and it eventually would turn east along Kreutzer Road.

For months, village officials have voiced their disapproval of the request. In a Wednesday news release, village officials said the route "imposes an unnecessary and unwarranted burden" on the village and residents in the proposed route area.

ComEd spokesman Jeff Burdick said in August that the first step of the project would be the construction of the Interstate 90 portion of the transmission line. The inland portion affecting the route's residents wouldn't begin for at least another year.

This expansion represents the third phase of ComEd’s Northwest Reliability Project, which the company said was necessary because of sharp increases in the demand for electricity across the region.

ComEd said it hoped to complete the project near June 2011.

However, Johnson said village officials were investigating whether the decision could be appealed.

"That's something we are reviewing ... at this time," Johnson said. "We're hopeful we'll be able to sit down with ComEd and fully and completely understand what their plans are."

• Northwest Herald reporter Amber Krosel contributed to this report.