MECOSTA COUNTY, Mich. — A proposed set of high-voltage transmission lines meant to shore up Michigan’s power grid has put a half-century-old music gathering in its path. The Wheatland Music Organization says one possible route for ITC’s Copperton Projects would wipe out more than 130 campsites on its Mecosta County grounds.
In a statement posted on social media, the group said the route would take away upward of 70,000 feet of camping area and would affect its fall festival, its year-round programs and the wooded areas of the property.
The Copperton Projects center on the Salt River substation in Midland County, which ITC calls Copperton and plans to fit with 345-kilovolt equipment. Three double-circuit 345-kilovolt lines would run from there: roughly 159 miles west to the Ludington substation in Mason County, about 55 miles to the Nelson Road substation in Gratiot County, and about 40 miles to the Tittabawassee substation, also in Midland County.
The work is part of a regional plan by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the grid planner for 15 states including Michigan. Its board approved the package known as Tranche 2.1 in December 2024, 24 projects covering 3,631 miles across the Midwest. The Michigan lines are expected to top $1 billion in cost and switch on in 2032.
ITC says the lines would make electric service more reliable, a sore point in a state that consumer advocates say ranks last in the nation for power reliability. Lines of this size can need a cleared corridor as wide as 200 feet, and landowners along the possible paths worry about what that does to future use and value of their property.
Nothing is final yet. ITC describes the route segments on its maps as preliminary, and the state Public Service Commission has neither received nor approved any of them. The company held community listening sessions in October and plans landowner open houses in the spring of 2027. If regulators sign off, ITC would try to negotiate payments with property owners and could turn to eminent domain if talks fail.
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