ICC to Hold Public Forums on Grain Belt Express Proposed Transmission Line

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) will hold three public forums on Clean Line Energy’s proposed Grain Belt Express transmission line later this month.

The hearings are set in communities in the western, central and eastern portions of the state in order to reach out to Illinoisans who would be directly affected by the proposed transmission line. As proposed, the line would run through Pike, Scott, Greene, Macoupin, Montgomery, Christian, Shelby, Cumberland and Clark counties.

Clean Line Energy is asking the ICC to grant a "certificate of public convenience and necessity" for the 780-mile long overhead line that would begin in Kansas and tap into a power grid in Indiana. The development schedule calls for construction to begin in 2017 and be completed and transmitting electricity in 2019.

ICC Administrative Law Judge Janis VonQualen will preside over the forums and ICC Chairman Brien Sheahan and Commissioner John Rosales will be in attendance. The forums will have two parts; the first part of the forum will be an opportunity for the public to provide oral and/or written comments into the record. This portion will last for 90 minutes and each speaker will have a 3-minute time limit. After the public comment portion, ICC staff will conduct an informal question and answer session.

The dates, times and location for the Public Forums are:

 Tuesday, July 28 at 5 p.m. at the Pike/Scott County Farm Bureau office at 1301 East Washington in Pittsfield.

 Wednesday, July 29 at 9:30 a.m. in the Pana Junior High Auditorium, 203 W. 8th Street in Pana.

 Wednesday, July 29 at 4 p.m. at the Gerald R. Forsythe Performing Arts Center, Marshall Junior High School, 806 N. 6th Street in Marshall.

The Grain Belt Express application is docket #15-0277 and can be viewed through the ICC’s e-docket system online at www.icc.illinois.gov.