Appalachian Power is planning a multiyear project to rebuild 18 miles of a transmission line in Floyd, Montgomery and Pulaski counties.
The company seeks public input as it determines the final route of the upgraded transmission line.
Appalachian Power spokesperson George Porter said Monday that the project’s cost has not been determined because it depends upon the route.
The utility will file its plan with state regulators next year. If the plan is approved, the company anticipates construction will begin in early 2031 and end by late 2032.
Appalachian Power said in a news release that the upgrades will improve electric service reliability and accommodate future growth.
“By upgrading 1940s equipment, we are working to deliver safe, dependable service for our neighbors and reduce the potential of extended power outages,” Porter said in the news release.
The existing transmission line runs between the Claytor substation near Claytor Lake and the Floyd substation near the town of Floyd.
The 138-kilovolt line will be rebuilt in or near existing rights-of-way, and in some places the route might be farther out from existing rights-of-way than where it currently runs, the utility said.
As part of the upgrade, Appalachian Power plans to install steel towers that will be about 30 feet taller than the existing structures.
Property owners within the project area will receive packets in the mail with additional details, Appalachian Power said in the news release.
Appalachian Power will hold two informal open houses to provide information:
- 5 to 7 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Radford Recreation Center at 200 George St. in Radford, and
- 5 to 7 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Hotel Floyd at 300 Rick Lewis Way in Floyd.
No formal presentations are planned. The utility said interested people can stop by during the sessions to learn more about the project.
The company will establish a project website and virtual open house at AppalachianPower.com/Claytor.
Last year, regulators approved Appalachian Power’s three-phase, $423.5 million transmission upgrade project to replace aging equipment and lines in Carroll, Floyd, Henry and Patrick counties.
The utility recovers transmission infrastructure investments as part of the transmission rate adjustment clause, or T-RAC, which is spread among all customers’ bills and is periodically adjusted to reflect changing expenses.
Appalachian Power last saw its T-RAC adjusted in August 2024, when state regulators approved reducing the utility’s annual T-RAC revenue from $413 million to $380 million. That lowered the average residential monthly bill by $2.12 beginning in October 2024.
Appalachian Power, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, has 540,000 customers in Western Virginia.