Waldens Creek, Tennessee (Sevier County)

Update – July 2025

TVA has identified the preferred location for transmission improvements that would provide power for growing load and increase power reliability in Sevier County, Tennessee

TVA evaluated each route using social, engineering, and environmental factors.  Information sources included available data, aerial photography, limited onsite reviews, public review and comment, and property owner input.  Based on public input and evaluation, the preferred route is expected to have the least overall project impacts of the alternatives.

TVA’s proposed line would begin at TVA’s existing Douglas Hydro-Pigeon Forge #2 161-kV Transmission Line east of McMahon Hollow Road in Sevier County.  The line would then extend west for approximately 3.01 miles to Sevier County Electric System’s Waldens Creek Substation to be located on the corner of Waldens Creek Road and Wears Valley Road in Sevier County.

The new line would be a single-circuit, 161-kV transmission line built using single-pole and double-pole H-frame, steel structures centered on new 100-foot-wide right of way.    

The preferred location for the new line was selected from several options presented at an open house in Pigeon Forge, TN on February 20, 2025 and online at a virtual open house from February 20 through March 24, 2025.

• Surveys of the right-of-way are scheduled to begin in Fall/Winter 2025.
• Easement purchases are scheduled to begin in Fall/Winter 2026.
• Construction is scheduled to begin in Spring 2027.
• The line is scheduled to be in service in Winter 2028.

The National Environmental Policy Act review is pending.

Background

TVA is considering improvements to its transmission system that would provide power for growing load and increase power reliability in the Waldens Creek and Wears Valley area of Sevier County in Tennessee.

TVA must plan its transmission system according to industrywide standards established by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).  These standards state that the TVA transmission system must be able to provide power during a single-failure event while continuing to serve customer loads with adequate voltage and no overloaded facilities.

Sevier County Electric System (SCES) currently serves the Waldens Creek area from their North Pigeon Forge 161-kilovolt Substation and their Wears Valley 69-kilovolt Substation.  In recent years, the load on these stations reached winter demands above their availability to supply power during a single-failure event.  SCES’s North Gatlinburg 161-69-kilovolt station serves as back feed for the Pigeon Forge 161-69-kilovolt transformer in emergency conditions.  If back feed were required from the North Gatlinburg station during heavy demand periods, this station would also be operating over capacity.

To accommodate the growing demand for electricity in the area, SCES is proposing to build the Waldens Creek 161-kilovolt Substation.  TVA would connect to the existing Douglas Hydro-Pigeon Forge No. 2 161-kilovolt Transmission Line and build a 161-kilovolt transmission line to SCES’s proposed substation.  The new Waldens Creek 161-kilovolt Substation would resolve the loading issue at North Pigeon Forge and Wears Valley stations and would improve voltage drop at the Wears Valley and Townsend stations.  This new transmission infrastructure would reduce losses in the system, increase power reliability, and support growing load in the Waldens Creek and Wears Valley area of Sevier County.

TVA proposes to build about 2 to 4 miles of single-circuit, 161-kilovolt power line to serve the new substation.  The proposed power line would begin at a point on TVA’s existing Douglas Hydro-Pigeon Forge No. 2 161-kilovolt Transmission Line and extend west to SCES’s new Waldens Creek Substation. 

The line would be built using primarily single-pole structures (with the possibility of 2-pole, H‑frame structures in hilly terrain) centered on new 100-foot-wide right of way.  TVA is considering 3 alternative connection points and 31 alternative routes consisting of 18 alternative segments for the path of the new power line.

TVA will hold an open house on Thursday, February 20, 2025, to provide information, answer questions and receive comments about the proposed transmission project.  For those unable to attend the open house February 20, 2025, TVA is providing a virtual open house from February 20 through March 24, 2025, online at tvavirtual.com/waldenscreek.

The project is expected to be in service in winter 2026-2027.  Construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2026.  (Dates are subject to change. Unexpected issues may arise, resulting in the need to adjust the schedule.)

TVA held an open house in Pigeon Forge, TN on February 20 and a virtual open house online from February 20, through March 24, 2025, to present the project.  Within this 30-day comment period, property owners and members of the public were able to submit questions and comments online, in writing, or by telephone.

(Dates are subject to change. Unexpected issues may arise, resulting in the need to adjust the schedule.)