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West Tennessee Power System Improvements (Fayette, Haywood, and Tipton Counties)

Update – September 2024

This project is on hold while TVA continues to evaluate power system improvement options.  Once final decisions are made, we will notify property owners and members of the public regarding our plans to proceed.

Background

TVA is considering improvements to its transmission system that would provide power for growing load and increase power reliability in the Fayette, Haywood, and Tipton County areas in Tennessee.      

The west Tennessee area is experiencing load growth that has led to compliance issues for reliability and the need for future capacity in the region.  This project will address compliance issues and support load growth by improving reliability and increasing capacity in the west Tennessee area served by Chickasaw Electric Cooperative (CEC) and Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation (STEMC).  The project will also provide the necessary capacity at TVA’s Stanton 500-kV Substation on State of Tennessee property in Stanton to serve the growing power demands in the area.

TVA proposes to build the South Covington 161-kilovolt Switching Station south of the existing Covington Switching Station and about 21 to 24 miles of double-circuit transmission line from the Stanton 500-kilovolt Substation to the new switching station.  The first 10 to 12 miles from Stanton to Mason would be on new right of way.  One side of this double-circuit line would connect to STEMC’s Mason Substation to improve reliability and capacity. 

After service is provided to the Mason Substation, TVA would remove the existing 11.5-mile-long 69-kilovolt transmission line between Mason and the new switching station and rebuild it to 161-kilovolt double-circuit specifications.  TVA would also connect the new double-circuit transmission line and the existing Shelby-Covington No. 1 and 2 161-kilovolt Transmission Lines to the new switching station. 

The South Covington 161-kilovolt Switching Station will be located south of TVA’s existing Covington Switching Station.  There are 3 alternative sites: 

  • Site A is located at 1469 South Main Street in Covington.  This property is about 53 acres, and TVA would purchase about 19 acres for the station, south of Mark Walker Jr. Drive near the intersection of this road with South College Street.  All transmission line connections at this site would fall within the boundary to be purchased, and the additional transmission line easement required would likely be confined to the same property (although some easement could be required outside the area that would be purchased).
  • Site B is located on the north side of State Route 384 (Hastings Way).  The southwest corner of this property is the intersection of Hastings Way and South College Street.  TVA would purchase about 19.3 acres of this 96-acre property in addition to about 9.5 acres of transmission line easements needed to facilitate the required transmission line connections.
  • Site C is located on the south side of State Route 384 (Hastings Way).  TVA would purchase about 15 acres of this 92-acre property in the southwest corner next to Mount Carmel Road.  Approximately an additional 10.5 acres of transmission line easements would be needed to facilitate the required transmission line connections, including about 5.6 acres located on the adjacent property west of the site. 

The new line would be built using primarily single- and double-pole (H-frame), steel structures centered on a combination of existing and new right of way.

TVA will hold an open house on Thursday, October 26, 2023, to provide information, answer questions and receive comments about the proposed transmission project.  For those unable to attend the open house October 26, 2023, TVA is providing a virtual open house from October 26 through November 27, 2023, online at www.tvavirtual.com/wtennessee.

The project is expected to be in service in fall 2028.  Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2027.  (Dates are subject to change. Unexpected issues may arise, resulting in the need to adjust the schedule.)

single pole circuit hs1g-transmission-structure-195h

Public Involvement

An open house was held June 27, 2024, in Piedmont, Alabama, to present the project. A 30-day comment period followed the open house during which property owners and members of the public were able to submit questions and comments online, in writing or by telephone.

Map

The map shows the area of the proposed transmission improvements. The map is also available below as a PDF file.

If you have questions or need help understanding the map, please contact TVA (see below).

West TN Power System Improvements Open House Map

Project Schedule

(Dates are subject to change. Unexpected issues may arise, resulting in the need to adjust the schedule.)

Open house October 26, 2023
Comments accepted November 27, 2023
Determine preferred route for field surveys Spring 2024
Surveys of the right of way are scheduled to begin Fall 2024
Easement purchases are scheduled to begin Winter 2025-2026
Construction is scheduled to begin Spring 2027
Project in service Fall 2028

Environmental Reviews

The appropriate National Environmental Policy Act review will be conducted to ensure that the environmental impacts are minimized. TVA attempts to minimize any land requirements, private property impacts, and environmental impacts associated with this project.

Efforts are made during the siting process to avoid or minimize impacts to floodplains and wetlands in accordance with Executive Orders 11988 and 11990. Floodplains and wetlands are shown on the referenced map. The map illustrates how the route avoids or impacts floodplains and wetlands. Because of project and topographic constraints and because of minimizing impacts to other social, environmental, and engineering resources, no practicable alternative may be available that would allow complete avoidance of impacts to floodplains and wetlands which may require mitigation for minimizing impacts. Also, best management practices would be utilized throughout the project to minimize adverse floodplain and wetland impacts. In compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, TVA will be coordinating wetland findings with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Contact

More information on this project can be obtained from:

Todd Liskey
[email protected]
800-362-4355
1101 Market Street, MR 4G
Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801