Centralia Board of Aldermen voted to become the latest Missouri municipal utility to move forward with negotiating long-term transmission service on the Grain Belt Express Clean Line. If approved by the Missouri Public Service Commission, the Grain Belt Express project could save participating municipal utility customers, including Centralia, at least $10 million per year.
“The Grain Belt Express provides Centralia the ability to secure low-cost, clean power for our families and businesses,” said Mayor Tim Grenke. “This much needed infrastructure project will also create large work orders for Hubbell Power Systems, Centralia’s largest employer. The City of Centralia stands to benefit greatly from this project.”
The Grain Belt Express Clean Line is an estimated $2 billion investment that will enable approximately $7 billion of new, renewable energy projects to be built. It will deliver about 4,000 MW of low-cost, renewable power.
Grain Belt Express is committed to engaging local businesses, including Hubbell Power Systems, to participate in the manufacturing and construction of the transmission line. This summer, the Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission, a public power agency that serves 67 municipalities throughout Missouri, announced that a group of their municipal utility members will buy transmission service on the project.
Subsequently, the city councils of Kirkwood and Hannibal authorized their city utilities to negotiate transmission service on the Grain Belt Express. Centralia also voted to join in.
“The Grain Belt Express Clean Line is a win-win for Centralia,” said John Bliven, the Business Unit Director with Hubbell Power Systems. “Not only will it provide lower cost power to its residents but the project is also supporting the city’s largest employer, by purchasing component parts for the transmission line from Hubbell.”
The municipalities have all cited cost savings and diversifying their power portfolios as the primary reasons to participate.
“We are thrilled that yet another Missouri municipality will negotiate transmission service on the Grain Belt Express, providing a significant cost savings for their ratepayers,” said Michael Skelly, President of Clean Line Energy. “The continued interest from Missouri municipalities to purchase capacity on the Grain Belt Express is a clear indication of Missourians demand for the Grain Belt Express.”
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