New Albany power-line plan would use metal poles, not wood
New Albany would be the first Ohio community to get a new kind of high-capacity power line, part of a proposal that would upgrade an existing line.
American Electric Power wants to install 6.5 miles of line supported by metal structures, which would replace a line now supported by wooden poles. The Columbus-based utility will hold an information session for residents on Sept. 5.
AEP plans to submit a proposal for the $30 million project to the Ohio Power Siting Board sometime this fall, the company said in a news release. If approved by the board, construction would begin early next year.
Facebook announced last week that it plans to built a data center in New Albany.
But while this new power line will help to improve the electricity system in the area of the data center, the line project is not directly related to Facebook’s plans, said AEP spokesman Scott Blake.
“This project will provide additional reliability to all customers served in the area by providing another source to the transmission grid,” he said.
This is a transmission line, which is a utility-industry term for a heavy-duty line that is much like an interstate highway for electricity.
AEP plans to support the line with structures using what it calls Breakthrough Overhead Line Design, or BOLD.
