TVA Identifies Preferred Route for Mississippi Transmission Line

The Tennessee Valley Authority has identified a preferred route for a nearly 10-mi transmission line that would replace obsolete equipment and ensure electric service remains plentiful and reliable in the Philadelphia, Mississippi area.

The proposed route is Alternative No. 2, the eastern-most alternative. The project would extend from the Philadelphia-DeKalb 161-kV transmission line near the Bloomo 161-kV substation off State Highway 436, about 5.5 mi southeast of Philadelphia, Mississippi, to the planned Central Electric Power Association substation on State Highway 492, about 2.7 mi southwest of House, Mississippi.

The selected route is expected to have the least impact on the area, based on public input from the open house in March and additional evaluation of other factors, including social, environmental and engineering impacts. A National Environmental Policy Act review is pending.

TVA will meet with property owners along the proposed right of way to obtain easements for construction, operation and maintenance of the line. The project will require new right of way. Property owners would still own the property and be compensated for the easements at fair market value.

TVA is expected to begin surveys this fall 2014 and start acquiring easements in fall 2015. Construction is scheduled to begin in winter/spring 2018 and be completed by that summer.

A map of the project and additional information is available on the TVA website at www.tva.com/power/projects.