WheelersburgArea Improvements Project

AEP Ohio representatives plan to upgrade the electric transmission network serving customers in Scioto County.

The project involves:

Building about 5 miles of 138-kilovolt (kV) power line.*
Rebuilding about 2 miles of 138-kV power line.*
Building Althea Substation located off Gallia Pike in Franklin Furnace.
Building Sweetgum Substation located near OH-522 and Mill Road.
Removing about 10 miles of transmission facilities between Millbrook Park Substation and Wheelersburg Substation.**
Removing Wheelersburg Substation.**

The project provides an additional power source to the area and enhances electric service reliability to customers. The additional power source allows crews to retire about 10 miles of deteriorating power line that dates back to 1916. Company representatives plan to build Sweetgum Substation to replace the aging Wheelersburg Substation to allow for adequate space for the modern equipment needed to continue serving area customers. Adding switch poles to the area provides the ability to isolate equipment from the power grid, speeding recovery of service when an outage occurs.

Company representatives plan to evaluate study segments in the area. Study segments are multiple alternatives presented to determine a line route. Company representatives do not build all study segments, rather, they select one route to build based on public feedback and feasibility.

This project requires Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) approval.

Project Updates

Fall 2024: AEP Ohio representatives have filed two Construction Notices with the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) for the Sadiq Switch – Texas Eastern 138-kV Transmission Line Project, Case No. 24-0945-EL-BNR and the Sadiq Switch – East Wheelersburg 138-kV Transmission Line Rebuild Project, Case No. 24-0935-EL-BNR.

The final line route for the Sweetgum-Sadiq Switch 138-kV Line Rebuild was announced in April 2023 and we expect to submit an application to the OPSB in fall 2024.