The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.

A recent press release from the Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition has reignited a familiar debate in Wisconsin over whether competition in transmission development is being threatened. The claims are designed to sound dramatic, but they distract from the only question that matters: whether current processes deliver value to Wisconsin transmission customers through infrastructure built on realistic timelines under Wisconsin’s strict statutory oversight. ATC has a twenty-five-year history of delivering on this value proposition. The interest groups and their financial patrons have slogans and broken promises. 

Transmission development should never be about a race to the bottom. Transmission is long-lived, critical infrastructure, and the hard part isn’t submitting low-cost bids. It’s delivering projects on time and maintaining a regulatory structure that holds people accountable for decades after the press releases stop.

The question before policymakers is not whether competition should exist. Competition has long played a role in the development of energy infrastructure. ATC uses competitive bidding for the work associated with constructing transmission lines. The more pressing issue is whether today’s federally mandated solicitation processes are working as intended, particularly as Wisconsin experiences rapid growth in electricity demand driven by manufacturing, electrification and large power users. When a competitive process adds more than a year to delivery timelines without adding new, transparent and enforceable accountability, that isn’t competition. It’s delay. 

As noted in the Grid Acceleration Coalition’s April 6, 2026, FERC complaint, in many regions, solicitation-driven processes extend timelines by 16 to 20 months or more, delaying needed infrastructure while costs continue to rise. 

A recent R Street Institute report argues that competitively selected projects are consistently built faster. But even that report cautions that limited data and inconsistent reporting prevent definitive conclusions and that results vary widely across transmission planning regions. In fact, the same report identifies competitive projects that took longer than comparable projects built by existing utilities.

ATC has a strong track record of delivering transmission projects for customers. Over the past decade, the company has completed 26 PSCW-approved projects at an average cost 12% below approved budgets. This reinforces a more grounded reality: timelines depend on execution, permitting, and accountability — not simply whether a project was awarded through a competitive solicitation. 

Transmission is not interchangeable with other types of infrastructure. Projects must be planned for years in advance, coordinated across state and regional boundaries and constructed to exacting safety and reliability standards. When project timelines slip, the consequences are not theoretical. Delays increase costs, strain existing infrastructure, and raise the risk of service disruptions for homes, businesses and communities. 

Protecting Wisconsin consumers also requires looking beyond headline pricing. Low initial bids often do not translate into lower long-term costs, particularly when projects face delays, redesigns or regulatory complications. Moreover, promises of cost caps are illusory. Cost overruns aren’t capped — they’re simply deferred. In contrast, Wisconsin’s regulatory process exists to ensure that utilities remain accountable throughout the life of a project, not just at the moment a bid is selected. Accountability means someone is on the hook when things go wrong, not simply positioned to walk away after financial returns are extracted.

ATC plays a critical role in delivering an essential service. We respond to requests from our customers and regional planners to plan, build and operate transmission infrastructure under strict state and federal oversight. Our focus is on delivering projects safely, on time, and with lasting value for the customers who rely on the grid every day.

As this debate continues, Wisconsin should resist false choices and sound bites. The grid doesn’t run on slogans. It runs on infrastructure delivered when it’s needed, governed by an open and transparent process that is accountable to the people who pay the bills.

Bill Marsan is executive vice president and general counsel for American Transmission Company.