TVA seeks public input on proposed DeKalb County transmission project

FORT PAYNE – The Tennessee Valley Authority is making significant investments to power the region’s growth, building generation across its seven-state service territory and working with partners to deliver affordable, reliable and resilient electricity to customers.

The TVA is holding an Information Day on proposed transmission system improvements to continue to serve growing electrical load and increase power reliability in the DeKalb County area.

The Fort Payne Improvement Authority is planning to build the Star Gap Substation on the corner of 8^th Street and Wallace Avenue in Fort Payne.

TVA proposes to build about 3.5 miles of single-circuit transmission line to serve the substation. The new line would use primarily single-pole, steel structures (with the possibility of 2-pole, H-frame structures as required by terrain) centered on a combination of existing and new rights of way.

• What: Proposed Transmission Project Information Day
• When: May 1; 3-7 p.m.
• Where: The Building, 301 Gault Ave. N, Fort Payne
• Other: TVA staff will answer questions and discuss concerns. More information, including maps and the project schedule, is available on TVA.com.

For those unable to attend the Information Day, TVA is also providing a Virtual Information Day May 1-30.

The public may also submit questions by contacting TVA’s Kevin Casler toll-free at 800-362-4355, by email at [email protected] or by mail to: Kevin Casler, Tennessee Valley Authority, 1101 Market Street, MR 4G, Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801.

The TVA said the project is part of its strategy to unleash American energy to power the region’s growth. Over the past five years, the region’s GDP has grown 2.9%, outpacing the national average.

In addition, the region’s population has grown faster than the U.S. overall, especially in the working-age population and those under 20 years old.

Since Oct. 1, TVA transmission crews have built 95 miles of transmission line and fiber and installed or replaced protection, monitoring, and isolation assets at 47 locations. The agency said its current planning assumption includes building about 5,500 megawatts of new firm, dispatchable generation by 2029.