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TVA holds open house on new substation

By Mark Harrison
The Times-Journal

Published June 12, 2009

TVA officials and some Rainsville residents have different opinions about the meaning of the phrase “power to the people.”

TVA held an open house at Broadway Baptist Church in Rainsville Thursday afternoon to detail plans for a proposed new substation for Sand Mountain Electric Cooperative and construction of up to three miles of power lines to connect the substation with existing power lines.

The project represents a total monetary investment of about $4 million, according to Tom Cureton, TVA transmission line projects coordinator. The project cost will be split about equally between the two involved agencies, with SMEC paying for construction of the substation itself and TVA paying to run the connecting power lines.

The purpose of Thursday’s open house was to gather public input on exactly where those lines should be run, especially from property owners who might be affected.

The new lines will run south from TVA’s existing Goose Pond-Fort Payne line to the new Rainsville substation, which will be located near the intersection of Industrial Drive and Dilbeck Road. At Thursday’s meeting, TVA presented several alternate routes for the proposed power lines.

TVA spokesperson Myra Ireland said the agency specifically mailed invitations to property owners whose parcels are located along one of the routes, involving a network of 16 possible line segments.

About 57 Rainsville residents turned out for Thursday’s open house, which spanned a three-hour period. During the open house, TVA officials were available to answer questions and address concerns of property owners and others.

“These new power lines, if they follow the existing proposed routes, could devastate property values,” Lloyd said. “Who wants the eyesore of power lines and poles on their property?”

Lloyd said he fears the lines, which will transmit 161 kilovolts of electricity, could also be potentially dangerous for the environment and to the health of those living nearby.

However, Ireland says those fears are unfounded.

“No studies have conclusively proven that power lines present a danger to anyone’s health,” she said. “And, as far as the environment goes, as a federal agency we have to follow all EPA guidelines and perform an environmental assessment to make sure any construction we do doesn’t negatively impact the environment.”

Cureton said construction of new power lines and poles can sometimes have an initial detrimental impact on property values, but said in his experience this is usually temporary.

Still, Lloyd said he and other concerned residents have proposed still another alternate route they believe to be safer and will impact the least amount of people. Cureton said TVA would take the proposal into consideration. Many other Rainsville residents at the meeting also expressed concerns, ranging from fear about health and environmental issues to the lines being simply being an eyesore.

Ireland pointed out the poles to be used for the project are the smaller sized steel poles, to be centered on 100-foot of right of way.

Both Ireland and SMEC General Manager Mike Simpson said the project would have no impact on consumer power rates, as both agencies have planned and budgeted for the upgrade.

Simpson said such upgrades are actually relatively common, with SMEC typically constructing new substations every three to five years. No SMEC representatives attended Thursday’s open house. Simpson said this is because SMEC has “absolutely no input” into where TVA ultimately places the new lines.

Ireland said the new substation and lines are necessary because some of Simpson said SMEC’s existing equipment in Rainsville is already running at capacity during the hottest part of the summer and soon may not be able to sufficiently handle the power supply load. Ireland said, if the planned upgrades aren’t made, Rainsville could begin to experience intermittent power outages.

Ireland noted that Thursday’s meeting represents only the beginning of a 30-day public comment period during which property owners and others may present concerns and proposals for alternate routes to TVA. She said the agency would announce the preferred route for the lines and begin field surveys sometime this fall, perform the required environmental review in spring 2010 and begin construction the following summer.

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