ITC Transmission was founded in 1999 as International Transmission Co., a subsidiary of Detroit Edison (since renamed DTE Energy Electric Company, itself a subsidiary of DTE Energy), charged in the ownership, operation and maintenance of Detroit Edison's transmission system. In 2003, DTE sold the subsidiary to ITC Holdings Corp. In 2004, ITC Transmission became the first, fully independent electricity transmission company in the United States following the 2003 transfer of ownership from DTE Energy to ITC Transmission’s parent company, ITC Holdings Corp. ITC Transmission owns a fully regulated, high-voltage system that transmits electricity to local electricity distribution facilities. ITC Holdings Corp. (: ITC) became a publicly traded company in 2005 and is headquartered in Novi, Michigan. Today it owns transmission systems in several states under a unique independent business model.
On February 9, 2016, it was announced that Fortis Inc., a Canadian utility company based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, will buy ITC Holdings for about $6.9 billion. The utility operator will also assume $4.4 billion in debt in cash and stock deal. Fortis said it intends to retain all ITC employees and that ITC will continue as a stand-alone operation at its Novi headquarters.
The ITC Michigan system, covering much of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, is composed of transmission systems formerly owned by Consumers Energy and Detroit Edison.
The original ITC Transmission system serves areas of southeastern Michigan and the Thumb region served by DTE Electric.
Largely overlapping DTE Electric's area, and launched on March 1, 2003, ITC's transmission line voltages are 345,000 volts, 230,000 volts, 138,000 volts, and 120,000 volts.
ITC has three 345 kV interconnections with First Energy Corporation in Ohio, via that company's Toledo Edison subsidiary (Bayshore-Monroe line, Majestic-Monroe-Allen Junction line, and the Majestic-Lemoyne line). Though owned by ITC these lines reside on towers designed and previously owned by Consumers, as they pass through part of their service area in southern Monroe and southeastern Lenawee Counties.