Bethabara to East Walton 230 kV Line

Georgians' lives and livelihoods rely on a single network of electric transmission lines. As new and existing customers demand more energy through the system serving an area, improvements become necessary. This is the case in northeast Georgia.

Electrical energy demand in northeast Georgia has been met largely by importing power over high-voltage transmission facilities from northwest and central Georgia, and from outside Georgia. We cannot continue to meet growing energy demands using the existing transmission facilities. In fact, our projections show that in less than six years - possibly five (roughly the time it will take to complete the project), existing lines serving the region will reach their limits under certain conditions.

Georgia Power is participating with Georgia Transmission Corporation and the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG) in the northeast Georgia Transmission Improvement Project. The effort will help meet our customers' growing energy demands and keep the electric system reliable for everyone.

The overall project includes construction of a 500-kilovolt line, four 230-kilovolt lines, one 115-kilovolt line and four substations in the region. This will dramatically improve electric reliability by introducing major new routes for power to reach northeast Georgia and significantly reduce loads on the existing facilities in the region.

Georgia Power's part of the northeast Georgia Transmission Improvement project consists of:

• Building a new substation in Putnam County (Rockville) with connections for the new East Walton 500 kilovolt line. Land for Rockville substation was acquired in 2007.
• Acquiring rights-of-way for a new 230 kilovolt line and constructing a western-situated 230 kV transmission line from Bethabara substation (GTC) to East Walton substation (GTC). The line will be approximately 12 miles long.

Use this site to find answers to your questions about the project. If you need more information or have suggestions on making this site more useful, please contact us.

• Permission to survey - June 2008
• Survey and Mapping - July 2008 through March 2009
• Title 22 meeting for Oconee County (see FAQ for details) - August 19, 2008
• Title 22 meeting for Walton County (see FAQ for details) - August 20, 2008
• Right of Way Acquisition - October 2008 through December 2010
• Line Design - January 2012 through September 2012*
• Line Construction - January 2013 through June 2014*
• In-service Date - June 2014*

*Transmission system needs may accelerate the schedule by a year, for an in-service date of June 2013.