The Arizona Corporation Commission has approved a new route for a transmission line that Tucson Electric Power says will "help serve increasing energy needs in central Tucson."
Dubbed TEP's Midtown Reliability Project, the line is meant to "upgrade the local energy grid by replacing older, lower-voltage equipment with a new 138-kilovolt transmission line, substation and other improvements," TEP said in a news release.
The line and substation are expected to be completed by the summer of 2027, the news release said.
The unanimous vote from the ACC, authorizes TEP to build the line above ground. The route follows West Grant Road, North Park Avenue, Euclid Avenue and East 36th Steet to link two TEP substations to the planned Vine Substation, the news release said.
The vote endorsed a decision by the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee, which voted unanimously to issue a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility, for above-ground construction on the project, the news release said. This was despite calls from some area residents that the project should be built underground.
The shift to partial underground construction would have added "significant cost" to the project, that will already cost an estimated $22 million to build above ground, the news release said.
TEP plans to relocate existing lower-voltage distribution lines below ground along the selected route, the news release said. The project will also allow TEP to retire up to eight existing lower-voltage substations and 19 miles of existing lower-voltage power line within ten years of completion.
