A controversial overhead transmission project in Tucson can move forward despite worries from residents of historic neighborhoods concerned about decreased property values and adverse effects to their scenic, historic neighborhoods.
The Arizona Corporation Commission on Sept. 5 approved a certificate of environmental compatibility allowing Tucson Electric Power to build a new overhead transmission line and substation to replace older lower-voltage equipment in midtown, some of which was installed in the 1950s.
Residents had advocated for underground lines.
TEP says its Midtown Reliability Project will work to modernize an aging electrical grid to keep pace with the city’s growing population.
The project includes a 138Kv Kino-DeMoss-Petrie transmission line that will travel through central Tucson and include steel poles measuring 75 feet to 85 feet tall, and at times 130 feet tall over bridges or railroads, and wire spanning 600 feet between poles. The estimated cost for overhead construction of the transmission line is about $23 million.