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Large electrical cables being replaced in Straits of Mackinac

ST. IGNACE, MI--   American Transmission Company is removing electric cables from the Straits of Mackinac and putting new ones on the lakebed.

In April of 2018 two of ATC’s transmission circuits were damaged when a ship’s anchor severed two cables and severely damaged a third. The three undamaged cables were reconfigured to form a single transmission circuit, allowing ATC to restore one electrical connection between the Upper Peninsula and Lower Michigan. Two operating circuits are needed to effectively manage and reinforce electric reliability within the region.

Over the next seven months the remaining cables will be removed from the Straits and replaced with two, 138,000-volt cables. Following necessary upgrades at the Point La Barbe Substation in St. Ignace and the McGulpin Riser Station in Mackinaw City, the $105 million project should be complete by December 2021.

Nicole was born near Detroit but has lived in the U.P. most of her life. She graduated from Marquette Senior High School and attended Michigan State and Northern Michigan Universities, graduating from NMU in 1993 with a degree in English.