March 9, 2026
By Gillian Pomplun – Orginally Published in the Crawford County Independent & Kickapoo Scout
The Richland County Natural Resources Committee took unanimous action at its Monday, March 2 meeting to recommend a transmission line information‑request resolution to the Richland County Board of Supervisors.
The Richland County Board of Supervisors meets on the third Tuesday of the month and may take up the resolution at its Tuesday, March 17 meeting, which begins at 6 p.m.
The resolution requests information from the BECI (Bell Center–Columbia–Sugar Creek–Illinois State Line) transmission line developer, Transource, regarding plans to construct a 765‑kilovolt (kV) transmission line that may be sited in Richland County.
The permitting process for the BECI portion of the line is at an earlier stage than the MariBell segment, which would connect Marion, Minnesota, to Bell Center, Wisconsin, crossing the Mississippi River near Genoa. Developers of the MariBell portion have been holding open house meetings since November 2025 and are expected to submit an application to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in the third quarter of 2026. BECI developers have not yet begun the project’s “public information” phase.
Documentation from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) indicates the BECI line is scheduled to go into service no later than June 1, 2034. While no routes have been announced, expectations are that Transource would follow the MariBell developers’ approach of siting the line along existing 69‑ or 161‑kV transmission easements.
Committee discussion
Prior to unanimously approving the information‑request resolution, committee members discussed both the resolution language and the proposed BECI project.
“This big transmission line is looking like it’s going to come through Richland County,” committee chair Supervisor Steve Carrow said. “MISO has said they want to run a big transmission line through the Driftless Area, and it looks like it would very likely come to Richland County.”
Carrow noted that several Richland County townships, including the Town of Forest near Viola, have passed similar information‑request resolutions. He also said Crawford County has adopted a resolution, Vernon County is working on one, and the Houston County Board of Commissioners in Minnesota has passed a resolution as well.
Supervisor Rod Perry of Richland Center, a committee member, ultimately made the motion to approve the resolution, but first expressed concerns about its tone.
“I’m not opposed to asking for the information — in fact, I support that,” Perry said. “But I kind of felt like the resolution, as I read it, indicated that we were already against the line when it hasn’t been discussed, either at this committee or at the board level. Right away from the start, it gives you the impression that we don’t want this, and maybe we don’t. There’s probably a pretty good chance that we don’t, but I just feel like the resolution is already saying that.”
Perry described his past experience working in utility management during what he referred to as “the rolling blackout days of the 1980s.”
“In the 1980s, Wisconsin was in dire need of additional transmission service, and we couldn’t get it,” Perry said. “We had three points where transmission came into Wisconsin, and everything else was generated within the state, and it wasn’t enough. There were times when entire communities had to be blacked out for a half hour, an hour, some block of time because there wasn’t enough electricity to supply them. That’s how important transmission lines are.”
Perry added that regardless of energy source, electricity must still be delivered through transmission infrastructure.
“I don’t care if it’s hydroelectric, coal‑fired, wind or solar — you still have to have a transmission line to get the juice to where you can use it,” he said. “That’s why coming out and saying we’re against it bothers me. But I still want to get all the information.”
Developer experience
Perry said he researched Transource to assess the developer’s experience with high‑voltage transmission projects.
“They have 345‑kV lines that they’ve constructed, but they only have one 765‑kV project, and that’s still in the planning stages,” Perry said. “That project includes two substations in Maryland and Virginia, but that doesn’t necessarily indicate that they know what they’re doing.”
Carrow emphasized that the resolution is intended to gather information early in the process.
“To be clear, when these kinds of proposed projects happen, there’s a very specific process for utilities and the Public Service Commission, and for public confirmation,” Carrow said. “We’re early in that. Our county, and other counties, are saying, ‘When you do get to that phase, these are the things we’d like to know.’ We want to make sure we’re prepared to give residents information so they can recognize what’s happening.”
Residents will have several upcoming opportunities to voice their concerns directly to project developers. Dairyland Power plans to host two public open houses in Wisconsin on March 10 and March 12.
March 10, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Gays Mills (Wis.) Community Center
March 12, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Retreat Sportsman’s Club (De Soto, Wis.)
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