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AEP, Duke, TVA to Develop $275M High-Voltage Transmission Line

American Electric Power (AEP) and Duke Energy on Thursday said they would jointly develop a 55-mile, extra-high-voltage transmission project with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in Indiana and Kentucky.

The $275 million project that will be developed under terms of a signed memorandum of understanding will include a 765-kV line connecting AEP’s Rockport Station east of Evansville, Ind., to the TVA’s Paradise Station in Drakesboro, Ky. The project, which will be undertaken by Pioneer Transmission LLC—an AEP-Duke joint venture company—will include construction of a 765-kV substation.

Pioneer and the TVA are expected to submit the Rockport-Paradise proposal to the PJM Interconnection (PJM) for consideration in its regional planning process. In addition, the project will require siting approval from the Kentucky Public Service Commission. Ownership shares of the final project will be determined by the TVA and the PJM approval process.

The Rockport-Paradise project complements the 240-mile Greentown–Rockport transmission line that AEP and Duke proposed in August 2008, when the companies formed Pioneer. Through a final order issued on Jan. 21, 2009, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted the 765-kV Greentown-Rockport project a formula rate and project incentives. Pioneer is working with PJM and MISO to move the Greentown-Rockport project through their respective approval processes. Pioneer expects to file for utility status in Indiana later this year.

Sources: POWERnews, AEP, Duke Energy

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