Charleston, W.Va., – Appalachian Power representatives and the utility’s affiliate, AEP West Virginia Transmission Co., Inc., have canceled the Alum Creek – Madison Transmission Line Rebuild Project open house to minimize health risks related to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The meeting was scheduled March 19 at Alum Creek Elementary School. In its place, company representatives invite landowners to a virtual open house at AppalachianPower.com/AlumCreek.
Landowners within the project area can also expect to receive a packet in the mail soon that includes additional project details and a comment card they can mail back to the project team with their feedback about the project.
“The online open house and comment cards allow us to gather input from the public while keeping their safety and health our top priority,” said George Porter, Appalachian Power spokesperson. “We encourage landowners to take advantage of these avenues for sharing input, or give us a call to ask questions and provide feedback.”
The team plans to use input from the virtual open house, the comment cards and additional field work to determine a power line route that minimizes impact on the community and environment.
Upgrades include rebuilding approximately 20 miles of transmission line in or near the existing right-of-way in Kanawha, Lincoln and Boone counties. The improvements strengthen the transmission system by replacing towers from the 1920s with modern steel poles.
To learn more about the project, access the virtual open house or leave a comment, visit AppalachianPower.com/AlumCreek.
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 companies in the United States. AEP is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to customers. AEP’s more than 18,000 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 219,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 32,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including 5,300 megawatts of renewable energy.