TVA East Cleveland Substation and Transmission Issues
Officials from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) recently contacted Volunteer Energy (VEC) to alert the cooperative of an issue at the TVA East Cleveland Substation. Much of the equipment utilized in the TVA substation has been in operation for over 50 years and is now reaching the end of its useful life. In particular, the substation transformers have started to show signs of degradation, and consequently, now run a high risk of failure.
In an effort to provide reliable service and minimize the risk of a large scale outage, VEC has decided to construct a new transmission circuit on the Highway 411 corridor between the Benton and Ocoee substations. Design of this circuit is already underway. VEC will also be constructing additional circuits and upgrading facilities in Bradley County, as well as shifting load away from the TVA East Cleveland Substation. All of this is being done to minimize the impact that could result from failure of the substation transformer. The areas of the VEC system that could be affected include South Polk County (the Ocoee Area), South Bradley County (the McDonald Area), North Cleveland (the Tasso Area), and Riceville in McMinn County.
Meanwhile, TVA has brought in a portable transformer that can be utilized in the event of a possible equipment failure. VEC is committed to providing a safe and secure electric service to our membership. It is for this reason we have undertaken the construction projects needed to mitigate the situation at the TVA substation. The construction that is already underway in conjunction with the construction that is being planned, represents the largest and costliest investment that VEC has undertaken in many years. Providing and maintaining a reliable electric system is of paramount importance to the cooperative.