Dickson, Tennessee

Update – September 2021

TVA has identified the preferred locations for a switching station and transmission line that would provide power for growing load and increase power reliability in the Dickson, Tennessee area.    

TVA evaluated each route using social, engineering, and environmental factors.  Information sources included available data, aerial photography, limited onsite reviews, public review and comment, and property owner input.  Based on public input and evaluation, the preferred route is expected to have the least overall project impacts of the alternatives.

TVA will build the Locust Creek 161-kilovolt Switching Station about four miles south of Bon Aqua in Hickman County.  The new switching station will be located on the northeast corner of the intersection of TVA’s Davidson-West Centerville and Tap to Bon Aqua 161-kilovolt Transmission Lines north of Old Locust Creek Road.  About three tenths of a mile of new right of way will be required for a short line that will route three nearby transmission lines into the new switching station. This short line will consist primarily of steel, single- and double-pole structures and will utilize new 100-foot-wide right of way. 

Approximately 300 feet of existing single-circuit conductor will be removed on the Tap to Bon Aqua Transmission Line and replaced with double-circuit conductor.  This portion is on existing 75-foot-wide right of way, where 25 feet of additional right of way width will be purchased.

TVA will then build 8.5 miles of transmission line from Dickson Electric System’s (DES’s) Burns 161-kilovolt Station on the north side of Reliance Road in Dickson County to DES’s Bon Aqua 161-kilovolt Station on the west side of State Highway 46 just south of Old Bon Aqua Road in Hickman County. 

The new line will be built using primarily steel, single-pole structures with the potential for double-pole, H-frame structures in select locations.  The line will be centered on new 100-foot-wide right of way.

Surveys of the right of way are scheduled to begin in fall 2022.

Easement purchases are scheduled to begin in summer 2024.

Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2024 on the switching station and in spring 2025 on the transmission line.

The project is scheduled to be in service in winter 2025-2026.

Background

TVA is considering improvements to its transmission system that would provide power for growing load and increase power reliability in the Dickson area of Dickson and Hickman Counties.        

TVA has determined that, in various maintenance contingency scenarios, the Dickson area transmission system is overloaded and experiences interruption in electrical service. Three existing Dickson Electric System (DES) stations in the area are on radial feeds. This project would remove these stations from radial feeds, provide increased transmission capacity for future load growth, improve operational and maintenance flexibility, and increase reliability in the area. 

TVA proposes to build the Locust Creek 161-kilovolt Switching Station and the Dickson-Locust Creek 161-kilovolt Transmission Line. The proposed line would be a total of about 14 miles long—about 4.5 miles on the existing right of way and about 9.5 miles on the new right of way.

TVA’s new Locust Creek Switching Station will be located about 4 miles south of Bon Aqua within 5 tenths of a mile of the intersection of TVA’s existing Davidson-West Centerville 161-kilovolt and the Tap to Bon Aqua 161-kilovolt Transmission Lines. TVA will build the new switching station and sections of new transmission line utilizing both existing and new right of way. TVA will also reconductor existing lines to create the Dickson-Locust Creek 161-kilovolt Transmission Line.   

• TVA will build a new bay at their existing Dickson 161-kilovolt Substation.  The new Dickson-Locust Creek 161-kilovolt Transmission Line will proceed east out of the Dickson Station. The new line will parallel TVA’s Kingston Springs-Dickson 161-kilovolt Transmission Line for about a quarter of a mile where about 50 feet of additional right of way width will be acquired. The new line will then join DES’s Dickson-White Bluff 69-kilovolt Transmission Line on double-circuit construction utilizing TVA’s existing right of way for about 4.25 miles. TVA will retire switches in the Kingston Springs-Dickson Transmission Line and remove the current tap point for the Kingston Springs-Dickson Tap to Burns 161-kilovolt Transmission Line.  The new 4.5-mile section of transmission line will meet the existing Tap to Burns line and continue 5 miles south to DES’s Burns Station.  
• This existing 5-mile-long Tap to Burns line will be reconductored and optical ground wire (OPGW) installed.
• TVA plans to build an approximately 9.5-mile-long 161-kilovolt transmission line from DES’s Burns 161-kilovolt Station south to their Bon Aqua 161-kilovolt Station. The proposed line will be built using primarily steel, single-pole structures with the potential for double-pole, H-frame structures in select locations.

The existing 5-mile-long Davidson-West Centerville Tap to Bon Aqua Transmission Line will be reconductored and OPGW installed. TVA’s new Locust Creek Switching Station will be built near the intersection of the Davidson-West Centerville Transmission Line and the Tap to Bon Aqua line. These 3 lines will terminate in the new switching station.  This may require tear down of existing single-circuit line and rebuild as double-circuit. Up to 4 tenths of a mile of new right of way will be required to route the new lines to the new station.

There are 31 alternative line segments and 2 switching station sites under consideration.

Property owners near and along the alternative transmission line segments have been invited to a virtual open house by mail—including about 237 property owners representing about 322 parcels.

The virtual open house is available from February 4 through March 8, 2021 at  tvavirtual.com/dickson.

Property owners and members of the public are invited to submit comments and questions about this proposed transmission project through March 8, 2021.

The project is expected to be in service in fall 2025. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2024. (Dates are subject to change. During projects of this magnitude, unexpected issues may arise, resulting in the need to adjust the schedule.)

TVA held a virtual open house online from February 4 through March 8, 2021, to present the project.  Within this 30-day comment period, property owners and members of the public were able to submit questions and comments online, in writing, or by telephone.

(Dates are subject to change. During projects of this magnitude, unexpected issues may arise, resulting in the need to adjust the schedule.)