Media Invited: Press Conference for “A Day of Power” at the Wisconsin State Capitol October 13

MADISON, Wis. Reporters are invited to a press conference on Tuesday, October 13, as residents from 10 southern Wisconsin counties bring copies of 69 local government votes opposing the proposed MariBell and BECI 765,000‑volt transmission lines directly to legislators’ offices at the State Capitol.

An educational session at Monona Terrace opens “A Day of Power,” a full day of constituent action organized by No 765 Line, Inc. before either developer applies for its state construction permit.

The day will begin at 10 a.m. and features a Keynote, education presentation and small group workshops. Neighbor teams from the 10 counties, which include Columbia County, Crawford County, Dane County, Dodge County, Jefferson County, Richland County, Rock County, Sauk County, Vernon County and Walworth County, begin legislative office visits at 1 p.m. Visits conclude at 4:30 p.m., with a press conference at the Capitol to share a State of the Campaign Address. The media are encouraged to register for the event and are welcome to attend.

Sixty‑nine towns, villages, cities, and county governments across the 10 counties voted to oppose the proposed 765 kV transmission lines or their routes. Municipalities opposing the transmission lines range from 23 in Sauk County to one in Dodge County, with eight additional governments, including Dane County, formally requesting more information or review. No 765 Line’s public tracker, no765line.org/take-action/resolution-tracker/, links each municipality vote to its resolution or minutes.

“Town and county boards didn’t wait for the state to decide,” said Michael Browne, treasurer of No 765 Line, Inc. “Bristol’s town board called a special meeting to vote, and it was over in less than 15 minutes. On October 13, people who could end up living beside these towers will say the same thing, in person, to the lawmakers who write Wisconsin’s siting law.”

One possible BECI route would pass about 350 feet from Jacob Hutter’s home in Sauk County, through land where his family grazes beef steers. “We’re going to move,” Hutter said. “I cannot raise my cattle underneath these. I cannot raise my children underneath these.”

The Public Service Commission of WisconsinThe state board that decides whether power lines get built. The application it reviews, a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), opens the formal window where the public can comment and intervene. will decide whether either line is built in Wisconsin. MariBell’s developers expect to apply in late 2026. BECI’s developer, Midcontinent Grid Solutions, plans to apply in early 2027 and anticipates a decision in summer 2028, after giving landowners five weeks, from its August 3 letter to a September 7 deadline, to comment on 78 study segments.

Federal regulators have already granted BECI’s developer an incentive allowing it to seek recovery of “prudently incurred costs” from ratepayers if the project is abandoned for reasons beyond its control. In the same order, the developer describes itself as “a new entrant transmission developer” with “no operational assets, revenues, or financial history.”

Both lines were approved by MISOThe Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the nonprofit that runs the electric grid and plans large power lines across 15 states, including Wisconsin. State regulators must still approve the lines it plans. in December 2024 as part of a $21.8 billion package, over the written objection of MISO’s independent market monitor, Potomac Economics, which urged the board to postpone approval and correct the benefit analysis.

Reporters may email press@no765line.org for the press conference location, interview requests, and to connect with participants from their coverage area.

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No 765 Line, Inc. is a Wisconsin 501(c)(3) nonprofit that equips communities to take part in the energy decisions being made about their land, their rates, and their future. It opposes the proposed MariBell and BECI 765 kV transmission projects and publishes its sources at no765line.org.

Header image: the Wisconsin State Capitol at night. Photo: Ryan Wick, CC BY 2.0

Sources

1. Local government votes and the eight information or review requests: No 765 Line resolution tracker, updated September 29, 2026, with a link to each resolution or set of minutes. no765line.org/take-action/resolution-tracker/
2. BECI filing plan and anticipated decision: Midcontinent Grid Solutions, BECI virtual open house, “Project Schedule” (file with the PSC early 2027; anticipated decision summer 2028). mgs-projects.com/BECI
3. The August 3 letter: Midcontinent Grid Solutions, letter to the public, August 3, 2026. Copy in our document library (PDF)
4. MariBell filing plan: MariBell Transmission Project, Wisconsin regulatory process (“4th quarter of 2026”). maribelltransmission.com
5. The incentive and the developer’s description of itself: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, order in Docket ER26-2376-000, June 26, 2026, 195 FERC ¶ 61,251, p. 2 (Abandoned Plant Incentive granted) and p. 7 (“MGS Wisconsin explains that, as a new entrant transmission developer, it has no operational assets, revenues, or financial history”). FERC eLibrary, accession 20260626-3115
6. MISO’s approval: MISO, “MISO Board approves historic transmission plan to strengthen grid reliability,” December 12, 2024. misoenergy.org
7. The market monitor’s recommendation: Potomac Economics, “IMM LRTP Feedback,” presentation to the System Planning Committee of the MISO Board, October 30, 2024 (“we recommend the Board postpone approval of Tranche 2.1”). MISO document (PDF)