Tennessee Valley Authority
TVA Identifies Preferred Route for Transmission Line
December 22, 2010
BURKESVILLE, Ky. — TVA has identified a preferred route for a new transmission line that would provide power to Tri-County Electric Membership Corp.’s upgraded Burkesville Substation.
The proposed 8.3-mile transmission line and substation will reduce outages and provide continued reliable power to the area. The current transmission equipment is nearing its power load capacity. The new 161-kilovolt transmission line would run from TVA’s Summer Shade-Wolf Creek 161-kV double circuit line to Tri-County Electric Membership Corp.’s upgraded Burkesville Substation on High Street.
This selected route is expected to have the fewest overall impacts of the routes studied. The appropriate environmental review will be performed under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The route affects about 35 parcels. TVA will meet with property owners along the new right-of-way to obtain 100-foot easements for construction, operation and maintenance of the line. Property owners will be compensated for the easements at fair market value and retain possession of the property.
TVA is expected to begin acquiring easements for the transmission right-of-way during winter 2011. Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2012, with project completion scheduled for November 2012.
TVA’s selection of the preferred route follows a review of public feedback on alternative route segments. TVA’s objective is to select the best overall path, weighing the same environmental, land use, engineering, cultural and cost considerations to make sure that overall project impacts, as well as impacts to the community at large, are minimized.
The preferred route for the new transmission line consists of alternative segments 1, 3, 4, 7, 9 and 10 as shown on the map on TVA’s website. The map and additional information are available at www.tva.com/power/projects.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation owned by the U.S. government, provides electricity for 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states at prices below the national average. TVA, which receives no taxpayer money and makes no profits, also provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists utilities and state and local governments with economic development.
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