Multi-Value Project (MVP) 7

Project Summary

A new high-voltage electric transmission line linking southeast Iowa to northeast Missouri has been energized, including a segment built by ITC Midwest. This section of the MVP 7 line stretches from the Ottumwa Generating Station (OGS) near Chillicothe, Iowa to an Ameren substation located near Adair, Missouri. ITC Midwest owns and operates a 14-mile segment of the line from the OGS southward, where it connects with a line owned by MidAmerican Energy Company to the Iowa-Missouri border. MVP 7 then extends into Missouri, where ownership transfers to Ameren. 

The MVP 7 electric transmission line is one of 17 Multi-Value Projects (MVPs) approved by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) to provide multiple benefits for electricity consumers, including greater access to low-cost generation, improved reliability and efficiency, and expanded access to renewable energy resources throughout the Midwest.

Specifically, this 345,000 volt (345 kV) line is a positive step forward in addressing the longstanding needs for the regional transmission grid to improve system reliability, expand system capacity, increase efficiency, relieve congestion and respond to the ongoing demands for new energy interconnections, most notably renewable energy sources. Before this line was energized, there were only two electricity interconnections between Iowa and Missouri at this voltage. MVP 7 dramatically increases the ability to move electricity between the two states.

On June 30, 2019, the 345 kV line from ITC Midwest’s OGS substation to the Ameren substation in Missouri and the Appanoose-Adair 161-kV line were placed in service. Along much of the Iowa segment, the 345 kV transmission line is double circuited with a 161 kV line owned by ITC Midwest and paralleled with a 69 kV line owned by Northeast Missouri Electric Power Cooperative. Building new transmission lines and rebuilding the existing lines on the same structures has reduced the impact to landowners and the environment. 

During construction, the project had a significant impact on the southeast Iowa economy, including employment of local contractors, vendors and suppliers. The regional economy benefited from the demand for supplies and services such as concrete, hardware, fuel, gravel and trucking, as well as food, lodging and other personal needs for construction crews. The transmission infrastructure provided by the project helps to spur economic development and job growth, as well as accommodate the growing needs of electricity users.

As it has throughout planning and construction, ITC Midwest will continue to work closely with landowners, county officials and neighboring utilities, as well as economic development and community leaders.  

Although the MVP 7 project is substantially complete, residents in the project area will still see crews working to remove construction materials, finish clean-up activities and restore land affected by construction into the fall.

Studies by MISO, the regional authority that oversees electric transmission for a multi-state area, show that the MVPs are anticipated to produce benefits for customers in the broader region of between 2.2-3.4 times project costs.

Quick facts about the ITC Midwest MVP 7 project 

• Construction began: October 2018 
• Length of line: 14 miles 
• Total length of conductor used: approximately 124 miles 
• Approximately 93% of the line is double circuited 
• Number of steel monopole structures: 84
• Distance between poles: 800-1,300 feet
• Average number of poles per mile: 6 
• Height of poles: 95-185 feet 
• Base diameter of poles used: largest diameter pole is 8.75 feet,  most are 5 feet in diameter
• Amount of concrete for pole and tower foundations:  approximately 14,000 cubic yards (equivalent to 1,555 mixer truckloads) 
• Range of depth of the foundations: 21-50 feet
• Quantity of gravel used: 6,338 tons  
• ITC Midwest OGS to Woody #2 161kV (345/161kV section) energized March 8, 2019
• NEP Ottumwa to Christianburg 69kV (345/69kV section) energized April 4, 2019
• ITC Midwest OGS to NEP Ottumwa 345kV energized May 15, 2019
• MVP 7 Iowa segment energized June 30, 2019
• General contractor: Michels