Missouri authorities approve 100-mile energy transmission line in state

Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois received approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission to construct a 100-mile, 345,000-volt transmission line and substation in northeast Missouri.

The transmission line, called the Mark Twain Transmission Project, will run from Palmyra to Kirksville in Missouri and north to the Iowa border. It completes a critical link in the region’s energy infrastructure.

“Approval of the Mark Twain Transmission Project is a significant step toward strengthening our region’s energy grid and delivering customer benefits,” Shawn Schukar, chairman and president of Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois (ATCI), said. “This project will deliver greater energy reliability, economic growth and improved access to clean energy sources for Missouri and its residents.”

ATCI is a subsidiary of Ameren Corp.

The project will cost about $250 million, with construction set to begin in April 2018 and a completion date of December 2019.

The line will go through Adair, Knox, Lewis, Marion, and Schuyler counties. The project also includes the construction of the Zachary Substation, which will be adjacent to the Adair Substation in Adair County.

Close to 100 percent of the line will be co-located on existing rights of way, including the Northeast Missouri Electric Power Cooperative’s 161,000-volt line between Palmyra and Kirksville and Ameren Missouri’s 161,000-volt line from Kirksville to the Iowa border.

“We look forward to continuing our work with Northeast Power, landowners, community members, county commissioners and various local and state agencies as this necessary project moves forward,” Schukar said.