NAPPANEE – Representatives from NIPSCO met with area residents at Nappanee Elementary School Tuesday during an open house to highlight the five-year Reynolds-Topeka transmission line project. Residents with properties surrounding Nappanee spoke with representatives in construction, engineering, public affairs and environmental issues on the stages and aspects of the project. The open house event is a chance for NIPSCO to both inform the public and also get information from residents in the area, according to Kathleen Szot, external communications specialist with NIPSO. NIPSCO respresentatives presented detailed maps to residents, even highlighting individual properties on computers. This allowed them to to demostrate what impact a line could have on residents’ land, and also allowed residents to point out areas of concern. A 100-mile stretch of electric transmission lines will be built to connect NIPSCO’s Reynolds substation in Reynolds to Burr Oak and finally the Hiple substation near Topeka. The line is being constructed as a relief on the power grid as well as to provide accessibility to newer sources of energy such as wind farms. The biggest concern expressed during the open house was the line’s impact on irrigation systems, especially the circular area systems, according to Szot. “I have concerns about my airport in Milford, and any immediate effect the line may have on the new fertilizer plant,” said Milford resident Steve Weisser. “This helps people figure out what is going on with the project. I think the big interest will be in July when more details are available.” NIPSCO is holding another round of open houses in July as more concrete information is available. A finalized selected route is planned for late this year. Open houses this week are also being held in Plymouth and Thursday in Monticello. NIPSCO is not required to hold these open houses, representatives said, but is doing so out of due dilligence to the community. Residents who were unable to attend the open house can get more information by visiting www.reynoldstopeka.com or by calling 855-264-2219.
