Opponents of two proposed high-voltage lines held a day of meetings at the State Capitol on Tuesday, organized by the group No 765 Line, Inc.
Organizers said 267 people registered and participants visited 52 legislative offices. They said 25 lawmakers agreed to at least one of the group's requests, which does not by itself mean those lawmakers oppose the lines.
The MariBell project would run about 140 miles from Marion, Minnesota, to Bell Center, Wisconsin, through parts of Vernon and Crawford counties. The BECI project would run about 190 miles across southern Wisconsin toward the Illinois border. Both would be 765-kilovolt lines, a first for Wisconsin, as part of a regional grid plan approved by MISO.
Residents raised concerns about farmland, private property, property values and rural areas including the Driftless region. Developers have said the lines are needed for reliability and growing demand.
The group asked for a bipartisan meeting before Dec. 15 to discuss changes to state transmission law, a public review of the 2024 MISO plan, and a public hearing on Midcontinent Grid Solutions' application to operate as a utility in Wisconsin.
Neither project has final construction approval from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, and the projects remain in planning and regulatory review.
