AEP Ohio and AEP Ohio Transmission Company Inc. are announcing an approximate $30 million investment to the electric transmission grid in Ross and Highland counties. This project will update an existing 69-kilovolt transmission line to improve the electric service reliability in the region.

The community and landowners along the route are invited to attend a project open house on Thursday, September 14 at the Highland County YMCA at 201 Diamond Drive in Hillsboro. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The event will run until 7:30 p.m. The informational open house provides attendees the opportunity to talk with company representatives, view maps and learn more details about the project. There is no formal presentation. Visitors may come and go at any time during the open house.

“The open house gives our customers the opportunity to provide us with valuable input early in the process,” said Jon Buck, external affairs manager for AEP Ohio. “We take their input to determine a line route that carefully balances our need to provide reliable power while minimizing our disruption to landowners and the environment.”

The company is rebuilding a 20-mile transmission line that runs through Liberty, Madison and Paint Townships in Highland County and Buckskin and Paint Townships in Ross County. The project includes rebuilding about 17 miles of the existing line in the current right-of-way, and in some cases supplementing current easements. The remaining 3 miles will require construction in new areas and a line reroute. We are asking for input on the proposed study segments so we can determine a route for the new section of line. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2018 and be complete by summer 2020.

Additional information about the project, including maps, is available online at AEPOhio.com/Liberty-Buckskin.