PLYMOUTH, Wis. — Plymouth Utilities had people with picket signs lining its front lawn Thursday afternoon.
"No high voltage over me" and "My land, my choice" were among the messages the protesters were sending.
"I am a landowner on County Road V... been here for 27 years," said Joe Koenig. "They want to run high-tension wires right over our houses."
Residents in and around Plymouth have been fighting a power initiative known as the Plymouth Reliability Project for about a year.
They formed the group Neighbors4Neighbors (N4N) specifically for the cause.
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On Dec. 12, power company ATC received approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to run transmission lines through nearly 50 properties.
"Just a big letdown."
The project was requested by Plymouth Utilities to provide power to rural areas.
Watch: Power project protest outside Plymouth Utilities sends message:
"Yes, improve the state, but do it the right way. Talk to the people," Koenig said. "It’s not fair. We don’t have a choice. We don’t have any say in the matter."
On my way into the building, I was given a written statement on behalf of Plymouth, which read in part:
Plymouth Utilities appreciates concerns associated with the construction of the new electric facilities and affirms its responsibility to provide safe, cost effective and reliable service to all customers.
"The most tragic part of this is people’s livelihoods are going to change," explained Koenig. He’s referring to people like Daniel Kraemer, a dairy farmer.
"When the preferred route went through, Jackie's and my heart just fell… It hurt," he said, choking back tears. "I’ve been living on this family farm all my life—that’s 63 years. It’s been in the family name for 89 years."
Like other residents, the power line route will cross right through his property, less than 300 feet from his barn.
"At this rate, I will no longer be able to live where I’m at," Kraemer noted. "I will not subject the dairy cows to stray voltage being that close to the line."
So, N4N members say they’re trying to make their voices heard with the protest—one against a power line backdrop depicting their likely future.
"We can’t quit because the minute we quit, they won," said Kraemer. "If we can at least move a route or make a change, we did something."
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