The Tennessee Valley Authority announced Monday the preferred locations for a new switching station and transmission line in Logan and Todd Counties that will prepare for growth and increase power reliability. TVA believes that America’s competitive advantage hinges on affordable, reliable and resilient electricity, and this prosperity requires the utility to build power infrastructure.
The selected locations are expected to have the least impact on the area, based on public input from the in-person open house and virtual open house and additional evaluation of other factors, including social, environmental and engineering impacts. A National Environmental Policy Act review is also pending.
TVA’s new Stokes Switching Station will be located on the west side of Old Trenton Road just north of Hadden Road. The power line will begin at the new switching station and extend east to the existing Cave Springs Switching Station. The line would be about 20 miles and built using primarily single- and double-pole (H-frame), steel structures on new 100-foot-wide right of way. Alternatives were presented at an open house Dec. 5 and at a virtual open house held from Dec. 5 through Jan. 6.
TVA will meet with property owners along the proposed right of way to obtain easements for construction, operation, and maintenance of the project. Property owners would still own the property and be compensated for the easements at fair market value.
TVA is expected to begin surveys in fall 2025 and start acquiring easements in summer 2026. Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2027 and be completed in fall 2028. A map of the project and additional information are available on the TVA website at www.tva.com/transmissionprojects.
This project is part of TVA’s strategy to unleash American energy to power our region’s growth. Over the past five years, the region’s GDP has grown 2.9 percent, outpacing the national average. In addition, the region’s population has grown faster than the U.S. overall, especially in the working-age population and those under 20 years old. Since Oct. 1, TVA transmission crews have built 95 miles of transmission line and fiber throughout the Valley and installed or replaced protection, monitoring, and isolation assets at 47 locations. Additionally, crews supported our local power companies by connecting 4 new delivery points to the TVA bulk system due to customer expansion and load growth. Areas served by these new delivery points include Southwest Kentucky and the Greater Clarksville area. TVA's current planning assumption includes building about 5,500 megawatts of new firm, dispatchable generation by 2029.
For more information about TVA and its mission of service to the Tennessee Valley region, click here.