Minnesota PUC to hold Big Stone II hearing
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA - The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has scheduled final hearings on permits for transmission lines that would carry electricity from the coal-fired Big Stone II power plant, proposed to be built in extreme northeast South Dakota.
The commission will hear final arguments January 13 and is to start its deliberations January 15 in St. Paul, Minnesota. A ruling on the permits could be made that day.
Electric power providers, including Otter Tail Power, Montana-Dakota Utilities and Missouri River Energy Services, want to build the $1.5 billion, 500-megawatt plant next to an existing plant near Big Stone City.
Transmission line upgrades into Minnesota would be needed to handle the additional electric power as well as create more capacity for wind-generated power from South Dakota.
Environmentalists have urged rejection of the permits.
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Failed PG&E power line blamed for Drum fire off Hwy 246 last June
LOS ANGELES - A downed Pacific Gas and Electric Co. power line was the cause of the Drum fire that broke out June 14 on Drum Canyon Road northwest of Buellton, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department announced Thursday.
The fire broke out about 12:50 p.m. north of Highway 246 and burned about 696 acres of wildland before firefighters brought it under control, although no structures were damaged, according to an incident summary.
A team of investigators pinpointed the official cause as a power line that failed between two utility poles and fell to the ground, where arcing electricity ignited the surrounding…
