NOVI – This is a critical time for Michigan?s economic recovery, a time when we all need to work together to keep the state?s growth momentum going. Since the end of the recession, unemployment has dropped in Michigan. Our state is one of the leading states in the Great Lakes region where housing prices are rising and manufacturing output is increasing.
To maintain that momentum we need strong infrastructure. Attracting and keeping businesses and jobs in Michigan is a top statewide goal for economic development, but it can?t happen without infrastructure investment.
As a company whose only mission is to build, own, operate, and maintain high-voltage electric transmission lines and facilities, ITC is pleased to be leading the way in making important energy infrastructure investments in Michigan. We have invested more than $2.6 billion since 2003 to improve grid performance and reliability and connect new generation resources. And we work hard to keep that money in Michigan. For example, in 2013, about 80 percent of ITC?s spending for construction, service and maintenance activities was in support of Michigan companies.
One good example of these investments involves a project to connect Michigan?s largest wind generator, the 200-megawatt Gratiot County Wind Farm, to ITC?s transmission grid. The system upgrades that enabled the generator connection have resulted in a more robust and reliable grid in that area. This is assisting Greater Gratiot Development, Inc., in its efforts to attract new businesses such as data centers that require large supplies of high quality power to operate reliability and efficiently 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. According to Greater Gratiot Development?s president Don Schurr, the increase in capacity, reliability and power quality has become a key element in their efforts to attract more new businesses to Gratiot County, particularly those that have very large or exacting power quality standards.
On the eastern side of the state, our 140-mile Thumb Loop transmission line project in the Thumb region is facilitating large amounts of new wind generation. During construction, the Thumb Loop is creating an estimated 320 jobs and contributing around $366 million to the Michigan economy. As the Thumb Loop is fully completed in 2015, more renewable energy will be able to come online.
One of the key pillars of Governor Snyder?s ?No Regrets? energy policy for the future is electric reliability. ITC?s investments to upgrade Michigan?s high-voltage grid put our systems in a position to support that vision. Our Michigan systems rank in the top quartile and outperform utilities in our region and nationally in transmission reliability.
ITC?s approach to grid investments takes into consideration the reliability of the electric grid today and assures the flexibility of the grid to meet Michigan?s energy demands tomorrow. These efforts will help ensure that Michigan meets its current and future energy needs and benefits from an economy that continues to grow.
Gregory Ioanidis is President of ITC Michigan, comprised of ITCTransmission and Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC), operating subsidiaries of Novi-based ITC Holdings Corp., the largest independent electricity transmission company in the country.
