FAQ
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Plain answers, with sources.
Short answers to the questions we hear most — about the project, whether it’s needed, and how the process works. Every factual answer carries its source.
The project
No — and we’re careful about this. The line itself is part of MISO’s Long-Range Transmission Plan (Tranche 2.1): a publicly planned, cost-allocated regional project on 150–200-foot steel towers through Southwest Wisconsin. What is private is who profits — four of the five developers are for-profit companies earning a regulated return, while Wisconsin ratepayers carry the cost. “Private companies will profit” is accurate; “it’s a private project” is not. Source · MISO Long-Range Transmission Plan (Tranche 2.1); project filings; MISO cost allocation
Five developers are named on the project: Transource (AEP/Evergy), BHE Transmission (Berkshire Hathaway), GridLiance, and NextEra Energy Transmission are private, for-profit companies; the fifth, Dairyland Power Cooperative, is a member-owned co-op. The multi-billion-dollar cost is allocated across the region — Wisconsin ratepayers among those who pay. Source · MISO project filings; MISO cost allocation
The proposed structures are 150–200-foot steel towers — roughly double the height of the existing lines in the area. The line is proposed through the Driftless region of southwestern Wisconsin, but the exact route isn’t settled: in an April 24, 2026 letter to landowners, Transource Energy stated that “specific routes, structures, siting impacts, or localized effects cannot yet be answered.” Source · MariBell/BECI project description; Transource Energy letter, April 24, 2026
Is it needed?
Wisconsin’s electricity demand has been essentially flat for two decades. By one measure, the state’s 2024 retail electricity sales were modestly lower than in 2005. The growth driving new long-distance transmission sits well to the east of the Driftless, not in it. Source · EIA-861 Wisconsin retail sales, 2005–2024 (see By the Numbers)
That’s the central dispute. MISO’s planning case claims the project returns $1.80 to $3.50 of benefit for every dollar spent. MISO’s own Independent Market Monitor — Dr. David Patton of Potomac Economics — estimates less than 40¢ of benefit per dollar. Resolving that gap is exactly what the PSC’s evidentiary record is for. Source · MISO LRTP benefit metrics; Potomac Economics (Independent Market Monitor)
No. We support a modern, reliable grid and the growth of renewable power. Our position is narrower: this particular project, through this particular landscape, doesn’t hold up — on need, on cost, and on what it would do to the Driftless. Supporting clean energy and questioning one expensive, contested line are not in conflict. Source · campaign position
The process & getting involved
The CPCN application is expected to be filed at the Wisconsin PSC in fall 2026. The Commission then decides on a record of filings, testimony, studies, and public comment. Until the application is filed, there’s no docket to comment in. See the regulatory track for how it unfolds. Source · Wisconsin PSC CPCN process; campaign timeline
Three things help most before the docket opens: join the email list so you hear about hearings and deadlines, document what lives on your land (birds and plants — useful to the record), and if you own land near the route, read the landowner guide. When the PSC docket opens, we’ll post exactly how to comment and intervene. Source · campaign
No 765 Line, Inc. is a Wisconsin 501(c)(3) nonprofit — a citizen coalition of neighbors across the Driftless, funded by donations. More about who we are → Source · No 765 Line, Inc.