ARAB, AL – The Tennessee Valley Authority has identified a preferred location for a new transmission line that would help support load growth and increase power reliability in the Arab area of Marshall and Morgan Counties. TVA will build a 161-kilovolt transmission line from the existing East Point-Guntersville Hydro Plant 161-kilovolt Transmission Line near Structure 62 southwest of Densmore Road to the Arab Electric Cooperative Sundown Drive Substation at 132 Sundown Drive.  

The selected route is expected to have the least impact on the area, based on public input from the 30-day virtual open house that started in January, and additional evaluation of other factors, including social, environmental and engineering impacts. A National Environmental Policy Act review is also pending.

The new line would be less than 5 miles and built using primarily single-pole, steel structures, and use new and existing 100-foot-wide right of way. TVA will meet with property owners along the proposed right of way to obtain easements for construction, operation, and maintenance of the line. Property owners would still own the property and be compensated for the easements at fair market value.

TVA is expected to begin surveys in fall 2023 and start acquiring easements in fall 2024. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2025 and be completed in summer 2025. A map of the project and additional information are available on the TVA website at tva.com/transmissionprojects.

TVA reports the region’s population growth is six times higher than the national rate. To support this growth, TVA is investing $2.8 billion in transmission system improvements across its service area through 2027, to build the energy grid of the future that will continue to provide reliable, affordable, resilient and clean energy.