Appalachian Power in-person open house set about Bluefield power substation upgrade

Jun. 3—BLUEFIELD, Va. — People with questions about plans for upgrading the local electric grid will have an opportunity June 6 to talk to Appalachian Power representatives about the project and what it means to the community.

Appalachian Power plans to upgrade the local power grid in Bluefield, Va. This installation, the Hockman Substation Project, will build a new 138-kilovolt (kV) substation and a quarter mile of transmission line.

The community has been invited to an open house Monday, June 6 at Graham Middle School in Bluefield, Va. This in-person event, open from 5 to 7 p.m., will give residents the opportunity to talk with power company representatives about the project. People can come at any time, and there will be no formal presentation about the project.

George Porter, an Appalachian Power spokesperson, said Thursday that there are no planned power outages during the project's construction.

"This project is not related to the recent filing we had for a rate increase," Porter said, adding that the power company does not try to recoup expenses on new infrastructure until it has been placed in service, so any impact on rates would be "further down the road."

The Bluefield, Va. area has not had any new electric facilities for close to 40 years, Porter said. Over that time, the population has grown and new businesses have arrived, so there is a continued strain on the local power grid. The project will help relieve some of the stress, and make the area more appealing to new businesses when they see ready-made power facilities.

The project is located within Bluefield, Va. on Appalachian Power property located off of South College Avenue near the former Magic Mart warehouse. This project includes a 50,000-square foot substation and a quarter-mile of transmission line including three steel two-pole structures.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

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