PSC approves Jamestown-Ellendale power line, clearing key JETx hurdle
The PSC’s June 24 ruling cleared a 92-mile Jamestown-to-Ellendale line through Stutsman County, but landowners still face construction, easements and road-use talks.
The North Dakota Public Service Commission approved the Jamestown-to-Ellendale transmission line route on June 24, clearing the last major state permitting step for a project that will cut through Stutsman County before running south to Ellendale. The 345-kV line is planned to stretch about 92 miles from Otter Tail Power’s Jamestown substation to Montana-Dakota Utilities’ Ellendale substation, with the utilities estimating a $406 million cost and a 2028 in-service date.
The route crosses Stutsman, LaMoure and Dickey counties, and Otter Tail Power said about 70% of easements were already signed as of August 2025. The PSC filing says the line will use approximately 150-foot single-pole steel structures with double-circuit capability and optical ground wire, and Otter Tail Power estimates the permanent land impact for the structures themselves will be less than two acres.
The hearing record included more than 20 hours of testimony and about 6,600 pages of documents, and the commission deemed the application complete on November 19, 2025 after the utilities filed the combined route application on August 8, 2025. Five hearings followed in January 2026, giving landowners, township governments and other opponents a formal forum to raise concerns about setbacks, eminent domain and the possibility that the corridor could someday serve data centers.
Otter Tail Power President Todd Wahlund said the company appreciated the commission’s “thoughtful and thorough review” and argued the decision reinforces the need to invest in infrastructure that keeps electricity reliable and affordable for families, farms and businesses. Otter Tail Power says JETx is a reliability project that should reduce transmission congestion, improve resilience to extreme weather and expand access to low-cost energy across the regional grid, not just for Otter Tail Power and Montana-Dakota Utilities customers.
The route permit also included conditions aimed at rural impacts, including dust mitigation and road-use agreements during North Dakota’s short construction seasons. A PSC filing proposed a route adjustment across the James River to accommodate a landowner request.
The project is one of 18 transmission projects in Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s Tranche 1 long-range transmission plan. Opponents had already filed a lawsuit that was pending before the North Dakota Supreme Court before the route permit decision, arguing they were shut out of the permitting process and challenging the statute used by the utilities.
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