Dear Customer:
Tampa Electric is committed to providing our customers with up-to-date information about construction projects in their area.
In February 2007, we announced our plans to construct a new 230-kilovolt transmission line from Polk County to Hillsborough County. This line is necessary to ensure the continued delivery of reliable and cost-effective electric service to your area. The Florida Cabinet, sitting as the Transmission Line Siting Board, certified the corridor for this line in July 2008.
Because of the current economic downturn, the timing of the completion of the transmission line has changed. Now, Tampa Electric will construct the transmission line in three phases, instead of two, as initially proposed.
During the first phase, Tampa Electric will construct a transmission line from the new Davis Substation in Temple Terrace to the proposed Thonotosassa Substation. The planned in-service date is December 2010.
The Thonotosassa Substation is needed because Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) is expanding its Mango Road Compressor Station #27. The substation will serve FGT only and is the most cost-effective solution to serve new load from the compressor station.
Adding the proposed Thonotosassa Substation required Tampa Electric to submit a modification of the certified corridor to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). (See map) The FDEP approved the modification in September 2009.
The detailed engineering design has been completed for the transmission line between the Davis and Thonotosassa substations, and a route within the certified corridor has been selected. That route will be submitted to the FDEP for approval.
Once Tampa Electric receives approval from the FDEP, the company will hold a community open house in the first quarter of 2010 to show the public the new route.
The second phase of construction will continue the 230-kv transmission line from the Thonotosassa Substation to our existing Wheeler Substation in Valrico. The projected in-service date for the second phase is 2014.
The third and final phase of construction will continue the 230-kv transmission line from the Wheeler Substation to the proposed Willow Oak Substation, planned at the intersection of State Road 60 and Turner Road in western Polk County. The expected in-service date for this final phase is 2018.
Tampa Electric will continue to notify you of our progress as additional milestones in the project are completed.
If you would like to learn more about our project plans or ongoing engineering, call 813-275-3334.
You can also visit the FDEP Web site which contains the TLSA application and all associated documents related to this project.
