I've watched a lot of transmission projects come and go, but never have I seen a project that has been so hidden from public notice. Think about it: If the public never finds out about it, then they won't form opposition, hire lawyers, and intervene at the PSC. They also won't generate any negative media or political unpopularity. A transmission project hidden from public notice is traveling a stressful road richly studded with hidden landmines. In my opinion, it's a stupid idea headed for failure.
Grain Belt Express "Tiger Connector" transmission project was barely mentioned in Invenergy's press releases earlier this month. It was hidden in plain sight on the second page of the release, a place reporters rarely go, especially if the "important" talking points are bulleted for them on the first page. Local press didn't even mention it. No story, no public notice, no participation, no opposition.
When the project was announced, the few maps that circulated were vague dotted lines on a zoomed out map that only included major roadways. Transmission developers ALWAYS have detailed aerial photography maps available at Open House dog and pony shows, and increasingly these developers share their maps online well in advance of the "meetings". Seeing a detailed map of their property with a new transmission line drawn in is often the trigger point for landowners. But if Invenergy keeps these maps hidden until just two days before the Open House, then less landowners will have an opportunity to see them. Less notification, less participation at the Open House, less opposition.
And speaking of those Open House "meetings" they are always, and I do mean ALWAYS, the subject of a well-circulated press release for local media, along with paid advertising in print, radio, TV and internet. The idea of holding these meetings is to gather public input. But if the public doesn't know about these meetings because the transmission developer has not adequately advertised them with plenty of notice, then the public probably won't attend. No attendance, no maps, no participation, no opposition.
Invenergy mailed a letter to what it called "impacted landowners" notifying them of the Open House meetings just two weeks in advance. Actual delivery of the letters was well within that two-week window. And who is checking to make sure Invenergy's list of "impacted landowners" is accurate? Even the best transmission developers miss large numbers of "impacted landowners" at this stage, which is why they also buy advertisements and press reporters for news stories. They may actually want the public to find out and attend the "meetings." But if a landowner doesn't get a letter, or has a scheduling conflict, then they miss out. No notification, no attendance, no participation, no opposition.
Invenergy has performed a parody of "public notice" for its Tiger Connector transmission project by not using industry best practices for public notice and hiding "information" in plain sight in places landowners would never look.
The Public Service Commission should be very concerned about these shady practices. Your elected officials should also be concerned about it. Please let them know how disappointed you are in "public notice" shortcuts for this project.
You can submit an online comment to the PSC here. The case number is EA-2023-0017.
Invenergy has created a "virtual public meeting" on its website. According to earlier statements, it will only be available for a very short time. You can visit it here.
Be sure to check out the aerial photographic maps all the way at the bottom of the page. If you don't see them, or can't make them function (which has already been a complaint) you may need to change or update your internet browser. Don't give up! But, then again, if half the internet visitors can't access the maps because they are not designed to operate in a wide-variety of internet browsers, then less people see them (we're really developing a theme here!)
The rest of the page is what I call propaganda. Let's review.
"New power delivery" In fact, Invenergy claims 2 nuclear power plants worth. Reality: Grain Belt is a MERCHANT transmission project. That means that it will only deliver power to an entity that has signed a contract to pay to use the power line. Grain Belt cannot and will not just "deliver power" in general. "Existing customers" have contracted for just 10% of Grain Belt's capacity, although 20% of its new capacity has been offered for years with no takers. That's right, nobody has purchased 250 MW of service in Missouri that GBE has been offering for years. All the propaganda and marketing spiel in the world cannot make electric distributors in Missouri buy something they don't need. Missourians know the story about painting Tom Sawyer's fence very well. If nobody wants it now, it's probably not marketable.
"New local jobs, spending and tax revenue!" But selling 2 nuclear power plants worth of extra energy into Callaway County directly competes with the reliable sources of energy Callaway already relies on, such as Ameren's Callaway Energy Center. The nuclear power plant currently provides thousands of good paying jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue and local community charities. Which would provide more? I think it is the Callaway Energy Center, hands down. Absolutely no contest. A bird in hand is worth more than the promise of two in the bush.
Invenergy's "experience." They say, "Invenergy knowns (sic) how to build the right way and has relationships with over 12,000 landowners, more than 80 percent of whom are farmers and ranchers." But reality is that nearly 100% of these "farmers and ranchers" signed voluntary agreements with the company because they were promised royalties or other payments that "share in the wealth" of Invenergy's land use. Transmission lines make a one-time "market value" payment for the perpetual use of your land. No matter how much money Invenergy makes from the transmission line, your compensation will not increase. Invenergy has recently begun condemning the land of folks who won't sign voluntarily.
The cheaper Grain Belt Express is to build, the bigger profit for Invenergy. GBE is approved to sell its service at market rates. The price GBE charges is set by market forces. It is not reliant on its cost to build and operate. While regulators can limit a jurisdictional utility's profit, the sky's the limit with Grain Belt Express! Nobody can hold their profit in check. And the cheaper the project is to build and operate, the more profit is in it for Invenergy! Perhaps that why, after promising single structure "monopoles" to landowners for a decade, Invenergy recently changed the structures after it purchased the bankrupt project from Clean Line Energy Partners. Invenergy says all transmission structures will now be cheaper 4-legged lattice construction. Promising monopoles seems to be a Grain Belt Express bait and switch.
All this same information will be decorating Grain Belt's venue tomorrow and Wednesday on strategically placed poster board easels manned by perky but clueless company representatives. But we all know that the only thing people come to see are the maps.
Make your plan to attend:
Grain Belt Express "Tiger Connector" transmission project was barely mentioned in Invenergy's press releases earlier this month. It was hidden in plain sight on the second page of the release, a place reporters rarely go, especially if the "important" talking points are bulleted for them on the first page. Local press didn't even mention it. No story, no public notice, no participation, no opposition.
When the project was announced, the few maps that circulated were vague dotted lines on a zoomed out map that only included major roadways. Transmission developers ALWAYS have detailed aerial photography maps available at Open House dog and pony shows, and increasingly these developers share their maps online well in advance of the "meetings". Seeing a detailed map of their property with a new transmission line drawn in is often the trigger point for landowners. But if Invenergy keeps these maps hidden until just two days before the Open House, then less landowners will have an opportunity to see them. Less notification, less participation at the Open House, less opposition.
And speaking of those Open House "meetings" they are always, and I do mean ALWAYS, the subject of a well-circulated press release for local media, along with paid advertising in print, radio, TV and internet. The idea of holding these meetings is to gather public input. But if the public doesn't know about these meetings because the transmission developer has not adequately advertised them with plenty of notice, then the public probably won't attend. No attendance, no maps, no participation, no opposition.
Invenergy mailed a letter to what it called "impacted landowners" notifying them of the Open House meetings just two weeks in advance. Actual delivery of the letters was well within that two-week window. And who is checking to make sure Invenergy's list of "impacted landowners" is accurate? Even the best transmission developers miss large numbers of "impacted landowners" at this stage, which is why they also buy advertisements and press reporters for news stories. They may actually want the public to find out and attend the "meetings." But if a landowner doesn't get a letter, or has a scheduling conflict, then they miss out. No notification, no attendance, no participation, no opposition.
Invenergy has performed a parody of "public notice" for its Tiger Connector transmission project by not using industry best practices for public notice and hiding "information" in plain sight in places landowners would never look.
The Public Service Commission should be very concerned about these shady practices. Your elected officials should also be concerned about it. Please let them know how disappointed you are in "public notice" shortcuts for this project.
You can submit an online comment to the PSC here. The case number is EA-2023-0017.
Invenergy has created a "virtual public meeting" on its website. According to earlier statements, it will only be available for a very short time. You can visit it here.
Be sure to check out the aerial photographic maps all the way at the bottom of the page. If you don't see them, or can't make them function (which has already been a complaint) you may need to change or update your internet browser. Don't give up! But, then again, if half the internet visitors can't access the maps because they are not designed to operate in a wide-variety of internet browsers, then less people see them (we're really developing a theme here!)
The rest of the page is what I call propaganda. Let's review.
"New power delivery" In fact, Invenergy claims 2 nuclear power plants worth. Reality: Grain Belt is a MERCHANT transmission project. That means that it will only deliver power to an entity that has signed a contract to pay to use the power line. Grain Belt cannot and will not just "deliver power" in general. "Existing customers" have contracted for just 10% of Grain Belt's capacity, although 20% of its new capacity has been offered for years with no takers. That's right, nobody has purchased 250 MW of service in Missouri that GBE has been offering for years. All the propaganda and marketing spiel in the world cannot make electric distributors in Missouri buy something they don't need. Missourians know the story about painting Tom Sawyer's fence very well. If nobody wants it now, it's probably not marketable.
"New local jobs, spending and tax revenue!" But selling 2 nuclear power plants worth of extra energy into Callaway County directly competes with the reliable sources of energy Callaway already relies on, such as Ameren's Callaway Energy Center. The nuclear power plant currently provides thousands of good paying jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue and local community charities. Which would provide more? I think it is the Callaway Energy Center, hands down. Absolutely no contest. A bird in hand is worth more than the promise of two in the bush.
Invenergy's "experience." They say, "Invenergy knowns (sic) how to build the right way and has relationships with over 12,000 landowners, more than 80 percent of whom are farmers and ranchers." But reality is that nearly 100% of these "farmers and ranchers" signed voluntary agreements with the company because they were promised royalties or other payments that "share in the wealth" of Invenergy's land use. Transmission lines make a one-time "market value" payment for the perpetual use of your land. No matter how much money Invenergy makes from the transmission line, your compensation will not increase. Invenergy has recently begun condemning the land of folks who won't sign voluntarily.
The cheaper Grain Belt Express is to build, the bigger profit for Invenergy. GBE is approved to sell its service at market rates. The price GBE charges is set by market forces. It is not reliant on its cost to build and operate. While regulators can limit a jurisdictional utility's profit, the sky's the limit with Grain Belt Express! Nobody can hold their profit in check. And the cheaper the project is to build and operate, the more profit is in it for Invenergy! Perhaps that why, after promising single structure "monopoles" to landowners for a decade, Invenergy recently changed the structures after it purchased the bankrupt project from Clean Line Energy Partners. Invenergy says all transmission structures will now be cheaper 4-legged lattice construction. Promising monopoles seems to be a Grain Belt Express bait and switch.
All this same information will be decorating Grain Belt's venue tomorrow and Wednesday on strategically placed poster board easels manned by perky but clueless company representatives. But we all know that the only thing people come to see are the maps.
Make your plan to attend:
Audrain County
Tuesday, July 26
Knights of Columbus
9584 State Hwy 15, Mexico, MO
65265
Meeting 1
12:00 p.m. to 2:00p.m.
OR
Meeting 2
5:00p.m. to 7:00p.m.
Callaway County
Wednesday, July 27
John C Harris Community Center
350 Sycamore St, Fulton, MO
65251
Meeting 1
12:00 p.m. to 2:00p.m.
OR
Meeting 2
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Don't let Invenergy get away with preventing you from getting information about a project that could have devastating effects on your home, your business and your community!
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