ROANOKE, Va., December 19, 2013 – Appalachian Power today filed an application with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) requesting permission to make improvements to the company’s 36-mile portion of the Cloverdale-Lexington 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission line.  The proposed work will replace all existing conductors—the wires that carry electricity—and replace or add approximately 12 towers.

            Appalachian Power shares the 47-year-old line with Dominion Virginia Power.  Appalachian’s portion is located in Botetourt and Rockbridge Counties beginning near its Cloverdale Substation and running 36 miles northeastward to its interconnection with the line section owned by Dominion, approximately three miles west of the City of Lexington.

            The project is needed to ensure adequate and reliable electric service by addressing North American Electric Reliability Corporation reliability criteria violations projected to occur in 2014 that were identified in a study conducted by PJM Interconnection—Appalachian’s Regional Transmission Operator.  It will also relieve market congestion on the transmission interface between Appalachian and Dominion. An alternative plan that required the complete rebuilding of the existing Appalachian portion of the Cloverdale-Lexington 500 kV line was rejected. It was estimated to cost more than three times the cost of the project covered by today’s filing and would likely create new environmental impact.

            In the proposed plan, all of the work will take place within the existing 175-foot transmission right of way (ROW) and more than 90 percent of the existing towers will be retained.

            “Using the existing ROW minimizes adverse impact on scenic assets, historic districts and environment of the area,” said Scott Markwell, project manager.   “The proposed project is a cost-effective and efficient solution with minimum overall resource impact that solves projected transmission planning criteria violations and maintains adequate and reliable electrical service to the surrounding area.”

            The desired in-service date of the project is June 2016. Total estimated cost of the project is approximately $36 million.

            Additional information about the project, including maps, photos, fact sheets and the company’s SCC filing, is available at www.AppalachianPower.com/CloverdaleLexington

            Public participation opportunities are available during the Virginia SCC process.

            Appalachian Power has 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, which delivers electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. 

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