New substation ready in November
A joint project of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Holly Springs Utility Department is near completion, according to Bill Stone, general manager of HSUD.
TVA is investing about $14 million for a new 161 kilovolt transmission line from Holly Springs to Ashland (about 15 miles). HSUD is investing about $2.5 million to build a new Ashland Substation to handle the new capacity.
The project has been in the works since 2011 and spans two administrations in Holly Springs, he said.
When the new transmission line and substation are energized it will increase the capacity and the reliability of service.
Stone said once Ashland goes in service, the Ashland feed will no longer flow through the Neely Avenue Substation in Holly Springs. This should help reliability for customers served out of Neely, also designated as Holly Springs Primary Substation. Neely Avenue is the oldest substation but still has more capacity than any of the other four substations - North Holly Springs, Coldwater/Mt. Pleasant, Slayden and Ashland.
“The new 161 kilovolt line is taking off exposure (risks) which has in the past caused outages in Holly Springs through the Neely Substation service area,” Stone said. “This upgrade also gives us capacity of feeding back toward Holly Springs from Ashland.”
Allen & Hoshell Engineers is overseeing the construction of the new Ashland substation.