Did you know SWEPCO operates approximately 30,000 miles of power lines? Those spans of power lines are equivalent to circling the earth 1.2 times! To keep your power flowing, crews across SWEPCO continuously monitor the lines and the system’s operation and develop ongoing plans to maintain, repair or improve the energy infrastructure.
One current SWEPCO wires project is in southwest Arkansas. Crews are making substantial improvements to the energy delivery system along Hwy 71, serving De Queen and Gillham. The project is set to make significant improvements to infrastructure, specifically impacting customers in the Gillham and De Queen area.
SWEPCO crews will reroute and rebuild critical distribution power lines, address vegetation growth, and work to implement right of way easement expansions as crucial steps to enhance reliability in the area.
A feeder, or main power line, carries electricity from the substation to a local or regional service area. These power lines are typically along major roads and thoroughfares; however, in the De Queen area the lines are in a heavily forested area. It was important to relocate this power line to a more accessible location.
“The area poses many difficulties when we are patrolling lines to identify the cause of any service issues,” said De Queen area Troubleman Kensey Morris. “We typically have to have side by sides and other specialized equipment to be able to get to the area and move in heavy equipment, which means longer response times.”
Southwest Arkansas is known for densely wooded areas and beautiful outdoor spaces. However, when power lines are located deep within these fast-growing forested areas, it could impact response times when lines require repair.
SWEPCO crews worked to reroute and rebuild approximately 3.8 miles of the line buried deep within heavily forested areas and redirected the line to easy-to-access highways in Sevier County. That initial effort was completed last November. “We take our responsibility to provide power seriously and we believe these efforts will ensure better reliability for our customers in Southwest Arkansas,” said Brett Mattison, the President and COO of SWEPCO.
Because our work to improve service never stops, the next phase of the project is already underway.
By strategically relocating certain sections of the line to be nearer the main roads, SWEPCO officials are confident it will result in the ability to work safer and quicker when responding to outages.
“The rerouted line is easier to access and is a major improvement from the original line route, which was often difficult to manage and took more time to reach during power emergencies,” explained Morris. “By relocating the lines, it helps speed my work to keep the lights on for our customers.”
The next phase of the reliability improvement effort involves expanding a right of way easement to help combat the forestry challenges in the area and rebuilding an additional element of SWEPCO’s energy delivery system: approximately six miles of distribution lines near Gillham, Arkansas and extending south towards De Queen.
Additional phases are being planned for further reliability improvements to continue through 2025, including significant transmission projects in the next five years.
SWEPCO continually identifies projects that will improve the reliability and resiliency of the power grid. Each project is customer-focused and designed to provide a higher level of service through new technology, system upgrades, and innovations to the power grid. To learn about some of SWEPCO’s other current projects for energy delivery in Fouke Ark., Stonewall, La., and Henderson, Tx. CLICK HERE.
You can also follow the appropriate links to learn about pending and current transmission projects in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.