Kentucky Power makes $15 million grid update

Kentucky Power carried out two transmission improvement projects last week near Elkhorn City and Pikeville totaling $15 million in infrastructure renovation to improve safety and reliability of electricity in the eastern Kentucky region.

The larger of the two projects was the new Breaks Station, which replaced the Elkhorn City Station. The project cost a total of $11 million and required a brief service disruption for 1,170 customers on Wednesday. The second project – Cedar Creek Station – was a $4 million project that updated two high voltage circuit breakers, a drop-in control station module, a circuit switcher and a low-voltage circuit breaker. Both updates are now live, but the removal of the older substation is still on the agenda for later this year.

“These transmission projects represent a significant investment in eastern Kentucky and will improve reliability for our customers,” Kentucky Power President and COO Greg Pauley said. “The projects show how we are modernizing our power delivery infrastructure and supporting our commitment to provide our customers with safe, reliable and affordable electrical service.”

The projects were organized as a joint effort between Kentucky Power and American Electric Power for the enhancement of quality of power and safety across eastern Kentucky. Kentucky Power provides services to residents in each of Kentucky’s 20 eastern counties, totaling approximately 170,000 customers.