The Ameren Spoon River Transmission Line project, which received approval by the Illinois Commerce Commission last September, is on track to complete construction on a Galesburg substation this fall.
Stakeholder relations specialist Leah Dettmers tells WGIL work on the 46-mile, 345,000-volt line from Peoria to Galesburg is “right on schedule.”
“We just finished the Peoria substation in that area and we’re working diligently to get Galesburg up and running by October 2016,” she says.
Dettmers says the line should benefit the area.
“The new Galesburg substation of the Spoon River project will improve access to lower-cost energy,” she says, “it increases reliability for the Galesburg area, it also promotes any kind of traffic mitigation, or congestion.”
She adds that the project will promote renewable energy in Illinois, as well.
While work on the Galesburg substation continues, Ameren is making 150-foot-wide easements with property owners along the line’s path.
Dettmers says the transmission line project is expected to cost $150 million and wires should be energized in November, 2018.
