196.491(5)(a)1. 1. Electric generation facilities in this state that are owned by public utilities or provide service to public utilities under contracts with terms of 5 years or more.

196.491(5)(b)1. 1. Electric generation facilities in this state that are owned by public utilities or provide service to public utilities under contracts with terms of 5 years or more.

196.491(6) (6) Waiver. The commission may waive compliance with any requirement of this section to the extent necessary to restore service which has been substantially interrupted by a natural catastrophe, accident, sabotage or act of God.

196.491 Annotation It was reasonable for the PSC to issue a certificate conditioned on the issuance of DNR permits when legislatively imposed time constraints could not have been met if sub. (3) (e) had been strictly followed and all permits required before the issuance of the certificate. Responsible Use of Rural & Agricultural Land v. PSC, 2000 WI 129, 239 Wis. 2d 660, 619 N.W.2d 888, 99-2430.

196.491 Annotation While sub. (3) (a) 1. does not provide standards to determine if an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity is complete, it specifically states that an application must contain the information required by PSC rules and PSC is not free to ignore those requirements in making its completeness determination. Although the PSC's decision that an application is complete is not itself a final decision, it is nonetheless subject to judicial review. Clean Wisconsin, Inc. v. Public Service Commission, 2005 WI 93, 282 Wis. 2d 250, 700 N.W.2d 768, 04-3179.

196.491 Annotation Interpreting a PSC rule to require a certificate of public convenience and necessity applicant to file the actual regulatory approvals before the application can be deemed to be complete would conflict with sub. (3) (a) 3. a. and b. The statute expressly contemplates that an applicant will not have the required DNR permits in hand at the time the PSC must render its completeness determination. Clean Wisconsin, Inc. v. Public Service Commission, 2005 WI 93, 282 Wis. 2d 250, 700 N.W.2d 768, 04-3179.

196.491 Annotation There is nothing unreasonable in the PSC determining an application to be complete yet requesting further information to assist in its review of the certificate of public convenience and necessity application. Clean Wisconsin, Inc. v. Public Service Commission, 2005 WI 93, 282 Wis. 2d 250, 700 N.W.2d 768, 04-3179.

196.491 Annotation PSC decisions under sub. (3) (d) are entitled to great weight deference. Examining the numerous requirements in sub. (3) (d) 2. to 8. and forecasting future energy needs and prices is a highly technical exercise that the PSC is charged with performing. Deciding what economic factors are to be included in a computer model is precisely the type of determination that the PSC should be given great deference to carry out. Great weight deference review of the alternate energy sources is not concerned with the actual procedures utilized by the PSC, but whether there is a rational basis for the determination of the PSC. Clean Wisconsin, Inc. v. Public Service Commission, 2005 WI 93, 282 Wis. 2d 250, 700 N.W.2d 768, 04-3179.

196.491 Annotation Sub. (3) (i) expressly withdraws the power of municipalities to act, once the PSC has issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity, on any matter that the PSC has addressed or could have addressed in that administrative proceeding. American Transmission Co., LLC v. Dane County, 2009 WI App 126, 321 Wis. 2d 138, 772 N.W.2d 731, 08-2604.

196.491 Annotation Section 196.49 (3) controls a utility's application to construct an out-of-state electric generating facility. Sub. (3) applies exclusively to in-state facilities. Under s. 196.01 (5) (a) and s. 196.491 (1) (am), every public utility has availed itself of Wisconsin's regulatory jurisdiction by obtaining authorization to engage in public utility business. Therefore, when the Public Service Commission reviews an application under s. 196.49 (3) it is a statutory entity that is being regulated, not a person's activity of constructing a facility, as is the case under sub. (3). Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group v. Public Service Commission, 2012 WI 89, 342 Wis. 2d 576, 819 N.W.2d 240, 10-2762.

196.494(1)(a) (a) “Electric utility" means a public utility, other than a municipal utility, as defined in s. 196.377 (2) (a) 3., that provides retail electric service to customers in this state.

196.494(1)(b) (b) “Transmission facility" means any pipe, pipeline, duct, wire, line, conduit, pole, tower, equipment or other structure used for the transmission of electric power as determined by the commission.

196.494(2) (2) The commission shall conduct a study on identifying and relieving any constraint on an intrastate or interstate electric transmission system that adversely affects the reliability of transmission service provided to electric customers in this state and shall, no later than September 1, 1998, submit a report on the results of the study to the legislature in the manner provided under s. 13.172 (2).

196.494(3) (3) The commission shall, under this subsection, issue an order requiring the transmission company, as defined in s. 196.485 (1) (ge), or an electric utility to construct or procure, on a competitive basis, the construction of transmission facilities specified by the commission in its order if the commission determines that such construction is necessary to relieve a constraint on a transmission system and the construction will materially benefit the customers of the transmission company or electric utility or other electric utilities or of an independent system operator, as defined in s. 196.485 (1) (d), or independent transmission owner, as defined in s. 196.485 (1) (dm).

196.494(4) (4) The commission shall allow an electric utility to recover in its retail electric rates any costs that are prudently incurred by the utility in complying with an order under sub. (3).

196.494(5) (5) The governor may, on behalf of this state, enter into an interstate compact that establishes a joint process for the states in the upper midwest region of the United States to determine the need for and siting of regional electric transmission facilities that may affect electric service in this state. The governor may not enter into a compact under this subsection unless the compact includes requirements and procedures for establishing each of the following: