March 12, 2021
CapX2020 Becomes Grid North Partners
Energy
WPPI has participated in the CapX2020 Transmission Initiative for more than a decade. As one of ten partners working together to modernize the transmission system, more than 800 miles of high-voltage transmission has been built since the group’s inception.
After completing its most recent transmission project in 2017, the group has continued its work, releasing a 2050 Transmission Vision Report and remaining active in transmission policy issues. This week the group rolled out a new name, Grid North Partners, to better reflect “the partners’ strategy to identify collaborative solutions to meet the region’s evolving energy needs.”
WPPI Energy’s participation is beneficial for WPPI Energy members and their customers because owning transmission assets delivers a valuable return that helps offset increasing costs for transmission service. Costs associated with direct transmission ownership are recovered along with a return on investment as a transmission owner within the Midcontinent Independent System Operator.
The Grid North Partners include Central Municipal Power Agency/Services, Dairyland Power Cooperative, Great River Energy, Minnesota Power, Missouri River Energy Services, Otter Tail Power Company, Rochester Public Utilities, Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Xcel Energy and WPPI Energy.
To view the group’s 2050 Transmission Vision Report, along with Grid North Partners’ press release on the name change, visit gridnorthpartners.com.