Arizona Corporation Commission Approves Route for TEP Midtown Transmission Line
The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has approved a route for a much-needed transmission line to help Tucson Electric Power serve increasing energy needs in central Tucson.
TEP’s Midtown Reliability Project will significantly upgrade our local energy grid by replacing older, lower-voltage equipment with a new 138-kilovolt (kV) transmission line, substation and other improvements. With growing energy demands nearly reaching the capacity of existing, lower-voltage facilities, TEP will work to complete the transmission line and substation by the summer of 2027 to maintain service reliability.
The ACC voted unanimously today to authorize above-ground construction along TEP’s preferred route for the project, which primarily follows West Grant Road, North Park Avenue, Euclid Avenue and East 36th Street to link two TEP substations to the planned Vine Substation north of the University of Arizona campus. The ACC also authorized construction along an alternative route. An interactive map of the approved corridors can be viewed online at tep.com/midtown.
The ACC’s vote endorsed a July 19 decision by the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee, which voted unanimously after an extensive public hearing to issue a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) for above-ground construction of the project. That panel rejected calls from some area residents that portions of the project should be built underground – a change that would add significant cost to a project that will cost about $22 million to build above ground.
As part of this project, TEP plans to relocate existing lower-voltage distribution lines below ground along the selected route. Completion of the project also will allow TEP to retire up to eight existing lower-voltage substations and approximately 19 miles of existing lower-voltage power lines within ten years of completion of the transmission line and the Vine Substation.
Although the ACC authorized construction along an alternative route, TEP plans to construct the project along the preferred route and request an exception from the City of Tucson for overhead construction of the project where the preferred route crosses streets the city designates as Gateway Corridors. Although TEP’s original proposed route for this transmission line included significant use of one such corridor – North Campbell Avenue and South Kino Parkway – the approved preferred route only crosses such roads at three points.
Public outreach meetings will be conducted as part of these waiver requests. Thanks to an agreement reached with the City of Tucson during the hearing and included in the CEC, TEP can proceed with above ground construction at these crossings if an exception is not granted within six months of our request, unless an agreement is reached to install underground using a funding source that would not increase customers’ rates.
TEP also plans to request City of Tucson approval of a special exception land use permit to authorize construction of the proposed Vine Substation. A previous request was denied, but TEP was invited to reapply once a route for the transmission line had been identified.
TEP provides safe, reliable electric service to approximately 450,000 customers in Southern Arizona. For more information, visit tep.com. TEP and its parent company, UNS Energy, are subsidiaries of Fortis Inc., a leader in the North American regulated electric and gas utility industry. For more information, visit fortisinc.com.
