Approval For $312M ND Electric Power Line
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- North Dakota regulators have approved the state's largest electric power line project since the 1970s.
Minnkota Power Cooperative wants to build a 250-mile line from Center, in west-central North Dakota, to Grand Forks.
It will cost about $312 million to build. Construction is expected to start in mid-May and be finished by the end of next year.
On Wednesday the North Dakota Public Service Commission approved a final route for the project. That means construction can begin.
The line will carry electric power from the Milton R. Young station in western North Dakota.
It will supply rural electric cooperatives in eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota. They have about 120,000 customers.
Minnkota says the project will improve the reliability of electric supplies in the region.
(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
