Ameren Illinois upgrades 140-mile stretch of transmission line
As part of the recently finished Southern Illinois Reliability Project, a years-spanning project to improve system reliability, Ameren Illinois rolled out upgrades to a 140-mile, seven-county swath of 345-kV transmission line.
That work spanned seven phases throughout the existing corridor, including upgrades to 13 existing substations and the creation of four more. Overall, this should improve energy reliability and increase transmission capacity throughout the southern portions of the state, from Cahokia to Joppa, Illinois.
“We begin and end each project with our customers in mind,” Shawn Schukar, chairman and president of the Ameren Transmission Company, said. “This project will help control energy costs and improve reliability thanks to smart grid technology. It also represents another successful partnership with local union contractors – this project was built for Illinois residents by Illinois residents.”
The line targeted in this rebuild was originally built in the 1950s as a 230-kV transmission line. Construction work officially began in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ran through to December 2023. Land restoration work is ongoing, however, and will continue into the spring.
