"ITC Holdings is in the business of transmitting power from massive generators to local distribution systems. It is the only publicly traded, pure-play transmission company.

"Based in Michigan, ITC was formed in 2002 when it bought power transmission lines from Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy.

"Since then it has grown rapidly by buying other assets and companies. Most notably, in 2007 it spent $750 million to buy 6,800 miles of transmission lines in Iowa from Alliant Energy. That was a play to get into the wind-rich parts of the country -- where ITC has big plans.

"And this is a profitable niche. In 2005, the federal government passed the Energy Policy Act to encourage new energy and transmission infrastructure. The law allows ITC and others to pass network investment costs on to utilities as an incentive to make upgrades.

"As a result, ITC -- which owns the gigantic high-voltage transmission lines that ship power to where it is consumed -- has been upgrading 15,000 miles of transmission lines and charging utilities more to push its juice through them.

"And there are plenty more upgrades ahead. Enter ITC's Green Power Express. At a cost of nearly $12 billion, ITC plans to build a new high-voltage power-line network across parts of seven states to connect wind-rich portions of the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa with power-hungry cities like Minneapolis and Chicago.

"The Green Power Express is environmentally friendly and will reduce our dependence on imported oil. Politically, the timing could hardly be better. Americans want renewable domestic energy.

"They want a cleaner environment. And they want the federal government to spend heavily on infrastructure to help stimulate the economy.

"That puts ITC smack in the middle of a huge potential build-out of the U.S. transmission system. In fact, Obama has already called for harnessing wind power for Chicago and other Mid-western cities.

"True, this initiative may take a couple years to get underway. However, just the news that the plan is moving forward could send shares of ITC spiraling higher.

"In the nearer term -- and even without this announcement -- I expect ITC to compound earnings at 30% annually over the next three years, even in a weak economy.

"In short, this as a low-risk, high-growth, recession-resistant utility play with the potential for dramatic appreciation if the federal government moves forward as we expect."

Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a free daily overview of the favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.