Second BOLD® line enters service in Indiana
On July 19, AEP energized the Reynolds–Meadow Lake 345-kV transmission line in northwest Indiana. The line is the second built using AEP’s BOLD®, Breakthrough Overhead Line Design technology and the first using a lattice structure design to support the compact line configuration.
“Electric demand in this part of Indiana has been straining the system,” said Tom Newlon, senior transmission project manager, Transmission Projects – I&M. “This project will enhance reliability throughout the region.”
The approximately $26 million project involved station improvements and rebuilding a nine-mile, 345-kV line with the BOLD® line to improve capacity without requiring more right-of-way acquisition.
The new BOLD® lattice structures will maximize system performance while minimizing environmental impacts and overall system costs.
The structures are between 15 and 20% lower than the previous structures on the right-of-way.
AEP energized the first BOLD® line near Ft. Wayne in November 2016. Additional projects are planned across the system, and BOLD® Transmission, a wholly owned subsidiary of AEP Transmission, is marketing the technology to other utilities.