Price tag of $35M includes substation above Cherry Log
A $35 million electric power transmission line project underway along four-lane Highway 515 is expected to be completed around midway through 2025, according to an official familiar with the project.
“There’s a few variables there, especially weather,” said Craig Heighton, director of external affairs for the Georgia Transmission Corporation. “This project is needed for reliability in the area. A lot more folks have moved in.”
The major 515 thoroughfare, also known as the Zell Miller Mountain Parkway, has been sited since the original placement along Boardtown Road was dropped after public meetings on the proposed project.
“Yes, that’s the same project,” Heighton affirmed. “We held a round of public meetings, we listened to the community, and we were able to work with the DOT (Ga. Department of Transportation) originally. That route was not considered just because of the difficulty with going up that (route) from the DOT standpoint. But we have been able to work with the DOT, and they’ve been great. I want to give them a lot of credit for working with us to allow this transmission line project to continue.”
He added of the need, “Amicalola EMC (Electrical Membership Corporation) identified this need to increase the reliability (of power). The outage data that they have (shows) they are experiencing more outages than there should be, and so to increase reliability, a new substation is needed about 10 miles north of Ellijay. So we are supplying that power via that 46kv sub-transmission line up 515.”
Heighton elaborated on the power line.
“This is a 46 kv, or 46,000-volt sub-transmission line — we say ‘sub’ because it’s at 46kv which is relatively low in the scope of things as far as transmission lines go,” he said. “We actually have a new substation going in at the Lucius Road vicinity, and that clearing (for utility poles) will stop with that substation. In fact, we’re at the very edge of our service territory with Georgia Transmission. Anything north in Fannin County is with North Georgia EMC. They get their transmission and power from TVA, or Tennessee Valley Authority. We’re in a clearing phase, we’ll be putting up poles, and later in that process, we’ll be stringing the conductor — (which is) another word for wire.”
Have there been any challenges in the excavation phase of construction that is currently underway on 515?
“I think the biggest challenge in that area is the topography,” Heighton replied. “Anytime you have hillsides and such, it’s a little bit more challenging than a flat piece of land. But (it’s) nothing that we can’t overcome … and (while) we’re constructing (and) in our clearing process, we want to clear what we need but not to overclear, and making sure we’re staying as least intrusive as possible.”
Why not underground?
Depending on topography, Heighton said the utility poles carrying the transmission line would be “roughly 80 to 100 feet” tall. He was asked with all the excavation work taking place anyway, might it have been easier to place the transmission lines underground?
“If it were only that easy, it would probably make all our lives a lot easier!” he said. “But it’s much more challenging when you’re trying to place a transmission line underground; it’s not as simple as just digging a ditch. Transmission lines, unlike distribution power lines — which can be feasibly put underground — requires that a very sizable trench be dug and encased in concrete. Because the wire in an underground line is so thick, it can only be spooled at every 800 to 900 feet, and so every 800 to 900 feet, you have to have a truck-size vault underground so you can splice the line.
“You can imagine if you’re going 10 miles how many that (vaults) would be. This project — just the line — is about $30 million, and (it’s) almost $5 million for the substation. So (it’s) about $35 million total for this entire project. When you’re looking at putting (in) underground transmission, you could be looking at about five to 10 times that cost. So from not just a cost standpoint, but from a feasibility of placing a transmission line underground — most of the time, it’s not feasible.”
Heighton noted out of around 18,000 miles of transmission line in Georgia, only 28 total miles are underground.
“That’s simply because most of the time it’s not feasible from a practicality standpoint, and certainly (from) a cost standpoint, to put transmission lines underground,” he added.
What about the aesthetics of transmission poles up to 100 feet high?
“In the construction phase, we’re putting up steel structures and they’re galvanized steel,” he explained. “And when you’re digging up dirt and you’re digging up that Georgia red clay, it’s very, very noticeable. However, over time — a couple of years — as vegetation starts to grow in and hide some of that Georgia red clay, and the galvanized steel poles start to weather and become less shiny, those poles have a tendency to blend into the skyline around it. So while everything’s new and shiny at the onset, they will over time start to weather and blend in a bit more with the background.”
Heighton said he knows the project might necessitate some traffic delays in the next few months, as signs along the route caution.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience as we go through this process,” he said. “Certainly this process is very needed to keep reliability up for Amicalola EMC, and to make sure that when folks flip the switch they get electricity. It’s an extremely important project for that area.”