BISMARCK – The North Dakota Public Service Commission will hold two public hearings regarding a proposal to construct two transmission lines that will run from northwest North Dakota to the Canadian border.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative is requesting siting permits for the construction of two separate 230-kV transmission lines. The first line would be about 53 miles long and would be located in Divide and Williams counties. It would originate at the Wheelock substation near Ray and end at the Canadian border near Crosby. Saskatchewan Power Corporation (SaskPower) will continue the construction of the transmission line from the international border to a substation near Estevan, Saskatchewan. The estimated cost of the project is $81 million.

The second proposed line would be about 58 miles long and would be located in Burke, Divide and Mountrail counties. It would start at the Tande Substation near Tioga and would end at the Canadian border near Crosby. SaskPower will continue the construction of the transmission line from the international border to a substation near Estevan, Saskatchewan. The estimated cost of the project is $97 million.

These projects were identified by the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) to address deficiencies in the transmission capability between the United States and Canada, based on the request for additional transmission service from SaskPower.

Hearings will be held Tuesday, March 17, at 10 a.m. in the Divide County Courthouse, 200 N. Main, Crosby, and Friday, March 20, at 10 a.m. in the Ray Auditorium, 215 Main St., Ray.

Any comments from members of the public must be received at a hearing to be part of the record. Information received after the hearings will not be part of the official record and cannot be used as a basis for the commission’s decision unless certain additional procedures are followed.