The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will seek public input during open houses Monday and Tuesday in Batesville and Charleston on a proposed transmission system upgrade that is planned to improve reliability for Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association customers in the Charleston and Oakland areas.

The project would build a new TVEPA substation south of Charleston and about 40 miles of TVA transmission lines from the West Batesville substation near the Tubbs Road/Hadorn Road intersection south to the proposed site of the new west Charleston substation and east from Charleston to the North Oakland Metering Station.

TVA officials will seek public input in Batesville Monday from 3 to 7 p.m. during an open house at the Batesville Civic Center.

In Charleston, TVA officials will host an open house at the Charleston Church of God Family Life Center from 3 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

“Comments will be used in reaching a decision on location of the new transmission facilities,” a TVA advertisement on page 5A states. The ad also contains a map showing the proposed routes of the power lines.

Written comments are sought from people who cannot attend the meetings. 

The location of the proposed transmission lines is expected to be determined by this fall with surveys of rights-of-way to begin next spring, easement purchases to being in fall, 2016. 

Construction is scheduled to begin in winter, 2018 to have the project in service by Spring, 2020, according to information on TVA’s web site, tva.com/power/projects/batesville_ms/index.htm.