Wheelersburg Area Improvements Project

AEP Transmission 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.**

*This segment of the project required Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) approval.

**Timeline for removal currently under review.

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.

Project Updates

Fall 2026:

AEP Transmission crews and contractors plan to begin construction in October 2026, starting with tree clearing and access road installation. Construction is expected to continue through spring 2028. The anticipated schedule for each project component is below:

Sadiq Switch - East Wheelersburg 138-kV Transmission Line Rebuild Project (Case No. 24-0935-EL-BNR): October 1, 2026-Late 2027
Sadiq Switch - Texas Eastern 138-kV Transmission Line Project (Case No. 24-0945-EL-BNR): October 1, 2026-Late 2027
Sadiq Switch - Sweetgum 138-kV Transmission Line Project (Case No. 25-0025-EL-BLN): October 1, 2026-Early 2028
Althea-Sweetgum 138 kV Transmission Line Project (Case Nos. 22-0857-EL-BTX and 24-0484-EL-BTA): October 21, 2026-Spring 2028

During these activities, landowners may see crews walking or using all-terrain vehicles to access your property. Whenever possible, crews will use existing roads, lanes and access paths to minimize impacts. AEP Transmission representatives will work with landowners to address those impacts, including restoration or reimbursement, as appropriate.

Contract Land Staff (CLS) continues to serve as AEP Transmission’s right-of-way representative for this project. For questions or concerns, please contact CLS Right-of-Way Agent Sky Higginbotham at 740-307-8231 or sky.higginbotham@contractlandstaff.com.

You may also submit questions using the comment form at the bottom of this page. Please reference the specific project component and OPSB case number when reaching out.

CLS right-of-way agents will continue coordinating with affected property owners regarding forestry work, access road installation, construction activities and restoration efforts.