AEP Transmission Co. obtained a $1.6 billion loan guarantee in October from the U.S. Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office to upgrade nearly 5,000 miles of transmission lines in five states, including Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma transco intends to eventually replace 1,434 miles of aging electric lines that serve 1.2 million customers.
Seventeen improvement projects totaling 353 miles are scheduled initially in Oklahoma. Those jobs will entail work in Comanche, Stephens, Kiowa, Caddo, Grady, Carter, Pittsburg, Johnston, Coal, Atoka, Latimer, Le Flore, Okfuskee, Washington, Osage, Rogers, and Tulsa counties, company records indicate. The projects will include:
• The South Lawton transmission improvement project is Public Service Co. of Oklahoma’s plan to rebuild approximately 13 miles of 138-kilovolt power line in the vicinity of the Goodyear tire manufacturing plant.
The project will involve reconstruction of the power line between the Lawton Eastside substation off Southeast 60th Street and the Lawton 112th & West Gore substation located north of Goodyear.
Plans also include replacing a half-mile of power line between the Lawton 112th & West Gore substation and the substation next to the Goodyear plant.
Pre-construction activities are expected to start this fall, and construction will begin later this year. Crews will work generally from east to west, replacing wooden poles with steel poles approximately 90 feet tall. Construction is projected to conclude in the summer of 2027, when rightof- way restoration will begin.
• The Lawton - Southwestern power station transmission line project will involve rebuilding about 36 miles of 138-kV transmission line between the Lawton Eastside substation in east Lawton and the Southwestern Power Station at Washita, in Caddo County near Anadarko.
The project area includes Lawton, Elgin, the community of Washita, plus Comanche and Caddo counties.
Aging wooden poles from the early 1960s will be replaced with steel poles, strengthening the power line against severe weather impacts.
PSO representatives plan for pre-construction activities to start along the right-of-way in early fall. This work may include placing stakes and ribbon within the company’s easement on private property; installing temporary gates and fencing and building access roads; installing culverts for water management; and trimming or removing trees and other woody-stemmed vegetation within the transmission line right-of-way.
PSO representatives plan to start construction on the power line immediately after those activities, and conclude in early 2026.
• Representatives of PSO and its affiliate, AEP Transco, plan to improve the electric transmission system in three counties: Comanche, Stephens and Carter.
The Lawton Eastside to Sunnyside 345-kV transmission line reconstruction project (aka Lawton - Lone Grove Transmission Line Rebuild Project) involves rebuilding approximately 70 miles of transmission line in southern Oklahoma and making minor upgrades to the Lawton Eastside substation.
That project will extend between the Lawton Eastside Substation and the Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. Sunnyside Substation located in Lone Grove.
OK Transco filed an application Oct. 14 with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for a Certificate of Authority to rebuild the power line, which was built in 1982 with poles and wires that have reached the end of their service life, the company reported.
Aging wooden poles are to be replaced with steel structures that are approximately 135 feet tall and will require a 150-foot right-of-way. The typical distance between the towers is approximately 1,150 feet.
Construction is tentatively projected to start next summer and conclude by spring 2028.
Company representatives will host in-person open house events to explain the details on the following dates, times and locations: Lawton: Tuesday, Nov. 18, 5-7 p.m., at the Comanche County Fairgrounds Annex Room, 920 SW Sheridan Road.
Duncan: Wednesday, Nov. 19, 5-7 p.m., Simmons Center (Redbud Room), 1330 Chisholm Trail Parkway.
Ardmore: Thursday, Nov. 20, 5-7 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn (Ballroom), 710 Premier Parkway.
An administrative law judge conducted a hearing on AEP Transco’s Eastside-Sunnyside application Nov. 6.
Reconstruction of the transmission line between Lawton and Lone Grove is part of the larger Southern Oklahoma Transmission Improvements Project. That is a PSO initiative to rebuild nearly 160 miles of 345-kV electric transmission line through Comanche, Stephens, Carter, Johnston, Coal, Atoka and Pittsburg counties.
The second half of that project will entail reconstruction of approximately 88 miles of high-voltage transmission line between Lone Grove and the Pittsburg substation southwest of Kiowa. PSO crews plan to install steel single poles, each approximately 145 feet tall, on this project.
PSO crews and contractors have worked since fall 2024, rebuilding Segment 1 – the Pittsburg substation to the Johnston County OG&E substation – and expect to conclude construction on that section by the end of this year, company officials said.
PSO forestry crews and contractors reportedly have begun tree trimming and clearing activities along the power line right-of-way, starting at the Pittsburg substation and working westward. PSO representatives plan for crews to start rebuilding Segment 2 – the Johnston County OG&E substation to the OG&E Sunnyside OG&E substation – later this year. Construction is expected to be completed in spring 2026.
• A Duncan - Rush Springs transmission improvement project will entail rebuilding approximately 25 miles of a nearly 60-year-old 138-kV line between substations in Stephens and Grady counties. Aging wooden poles will be replaced with concrete and steel poles, the company reported.
The power line extends between the Duncan substation, located near Cherokee Road and South 13th Street, to a point on an existing power line located about a mile and a half east of Rush Springs.
Crews plan to start construction in early 2026 and conclude in spring 2027.
• The Hobart - Snyder transmission improvement project involves rebuilding about 15 miles of 69-kV transmission line between the substation in east Hobart off South Eastern Street and the substation in west Snyder off Eighth Street; it also will include minor upgrades to substation equipment along the line. The rehabilitation project will not involve a separate 15-mile section of the line that PSO crews rebuilt in 2010 after a tornado damaged the system.
Wooden poles from the 1940s will be replaced with modern steel poles to strengthen the line against weather and other environmental effects, PSO said.
The project area will include Hobart, Roosevelt, Mountain Park, Snyder, and Kiowa County.
• In the South Chickasha transmission improvement project, PSO will rebuild about five miles of 138-kV power line between the Cornville substation approximately three miles southeast of Chickasha off North 2862 Road, and the Norge Road substations in the Chickasha area. Wires will be upgraded to accommodate higher load demands, and minor improvements will be made to substation equipment along the route.
That line was constructed in 1964, a PSO executive said, and the wooden poles and wires have reached the end of their expected service life. Inclement weather and other factors have caused power outages along the line since 2015, records reflect.
The work was expected to start two years ago but was pushed back several times, in part because of delays in material deliveries, company officials said.
Also, increased solar and wind generation development in western Oklahoma has increased “line flows” of electrical load. Rebuilding the South Chickasha transmission line to modern standards is expected to help accommodate the increased load flow.
Crews plan to begin construction this fall and conclude by or before the end of the year, PSO reported. Steel poles standing approximately 90 feet high will be installed.
• In northeastern Grady County, PSO has scheduled system improvements in the Tuttle area.
That project involves building approximately 13.5 miles of power line and a substation to improve reliability and customer quality of service. The work includes building approximately five miles of 138-kV transmission line and approximately eight and one-half miles of 13-kV distribution line, including three miles built under the new transmission line Steel poles approximately 90 feet tall will be installed to support the transmission line, and wooden poles approximately 45 feet tall will support the distribution line, PSO reported.
The job also will include constructing a new Ridge Road distribution substation near the intersection of East Silver City Ridge Road and County Street 2940, company records indicate.
Crews expect to start construction in early 2026 and finish in fall 2026.
Elsewhere in Oklahoma
• In Okfuskee County, PSO intends to rebuild approximately 12 miles of 69-kV transmission line between the Weleetka power station, which is about a mile south of town by the North Canadian River, and the Okemah substation off East Broadway Street.
The electric line was built in 1963 and “needs to be rebuilt due to reliability issues over the past decade,” PSO explained. The new power line will be supported on steel poles approximately 85 feet tall, which will replace deteriorating wooden poles, records show.
The timeline has shifted as the project has evolved. The latest plan calls for pre-construction activities such as right-of-way access preparation to begin in late 2026. Construction of the transmission line will follow shortly afterward and is projected to finish in summer 2027.
• The local power grid in Latimer and LeFlore counties is scheduled to be upgraded with reconstruction of approximately 15 miles of electric transmission line between Red Oak and Talihina.
PSO said the project will boost line capacity, and aging wooden poles installed in the 1970s will be replaced with modern steel poles approximately 75 feet tall, to reduce maintenance frequency and strengthen the line against severe weather impacts. In addition, wires and substation equipment will be upgraded to reduce the likelihood of larger, community- sustained outage
• The electric transmission system in Washington and Osage counties will be improved with the reconstruction of the 17-mile, 69-kV Bartlesville Comanche - Blake transmission line.
That power line was built in 1957 and expanded in 1978, records show. The line’s poles and wires have reached the end of their service life. In the upgrade, aging wooden poles will be replaced with steel poles, wires will be upgraded, and the line will be strengthened against severe weather effects.
• The electric system in southwestern Rogers County will be strengthened with reconstruction of an aging transmission line.
The project will involve rebuilding approximately 11 miles of the 138-kV Catoosa Northeastern Power Station transmission line between PSO’s Catoosa substation off Route 66 and KAMO Power’s Verdigris substation southwest of Claremore. The work also will include rebuilding about three miles of lines connecting other substations to the Catoosa - Northeastern Power Station transmission line and upgrading substation equipment along the project route.
Deteriorating wooden poles installed in 1964 will be replaced with modern steel poles to support the electric lines, blueprints show.
• In addition, four line replacement projects are slated in Tulsa.