Regulators schedule hearings on power line

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The public will get a chance next month to sound off on a proposal to build a power line from Alma to Holmen in western Wisconsin.

Northern States Power Co.-Wisconsin, Dairyland Power Cooperative and WPPI Energy have asked the Wisconsin Public Service Commission to approve the 345-kilovolt line.

The utilities say they need the line to serve rising demand in La Crosse and southeastern Minnesota.

The state Public Service Commission’s environmental impact study, however, found it’s unclear whether the area’s population will grow enough to justify the utilities’ projections.

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission has scheduled public hearings for March 13 in Alma and for March 14 in Centerville.