CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Appalachian Power Company wants to better serve the Charleston area by upgrading the local transmission system. The company announced their proposed Charleston Area Improvements Project Tuesday.
The project includes rebuilding about five miles of transmission line, expanding two substation, building a new segment of transmission line and adding a new substation in the downtown section of the city.
Charles Patton, president and chief operating officer for Appalachian Power, said in a news release, “This project is critical because it directly addresses the need for increased electric reliability in the Charleston area.”
Patton said their focus is to take steps toward providing reliable service, due to the amount of customers that have made that clear to them.
The company wants to hear from the public and affected landowners at their open house scheduled for June 23 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Horrace Mann Middle School in Kanawha City.
The open house will give residents and business owners the opportunity to witness what the company’s plan is and to voice their opinion on how they can build a better a project. Visitors can view maps of the potential route and speak with members of the project team.
Construction on the project would start summer of 2017 and be completed by the end of 2019.
This year, thousands of Appalachian Power customers were without service across the state. The company had hundreds of workers from outside of West Virginia in the state helping with restoration efforts.