Dive Brief:
- American Electric Power is building out its transmission system in Ohio with at least three projects before state regulators, a push driven in large part by the oil and gas industry's expansion in the Utica Shale.
- AEP has proposed a 138 KV loop aimed at powering a MarkWest gas processing facility in eastern Ohio. The project calls for a two-mile transmission line with a planned inservice date next year, according to Columbus Business First.
- Two other projects call for a combined 31 miles of transmission line and the addition of a new substation at a cost of $97 million. All of the projects are expected in service by 2017.
Dive Insight:
The oil and gas industry continues to demand power, and some of that demand is powering AEP's expansion south of Columbus.
Columbus Business First reports that MarkWest Utica EMG LLC has developed a new processing facility in Harrison County and has teamed up with AEP on a transmission line that can accommodate future demand. The project is expected to be complete by summer at a cost of $5.2 million.
AEP also has two projects which are aimed at bolstering reliability in south-central Ohio. The Biers Run-Circleville and Biers Run-Hopetown-Delano are both 138-kv projects expected to be in service in 2017 and 2016, respectively.
