ASHLAND, Ky., March 11, 2021 – Kentucky Power officials plan upgrades to the electric

transmission system in Floyd and Knott counties. The Garrett Area Transmission Line Project involves:

• Building approximately 15 miles of 138-kilovolt electric transmission line

• Building the Eastern Substation

• Expanding the Garrett Substation

• Making upgrades to the Hays Branch, Saltlick and Soft Shell substations

Construction of the new line allows crews to retire approximately 25 miles of transmission line that includes deteriorating wooden poles from the 1920s and 1940s. The existing line has experienced multiple power outages in recent years.

“Transmission improvement projects such as the Garrett project represent meaningful investment in eastern Kentucky, “ said Brett Mattison, Kentucky Power president and chief operating officer. “This project strengthens the local power grid and helps to ensure reliable electric service for area customers.”

Company representatives are evaluating several route options for the new transmission line. The project begins at the Hays Branch Substation in Floyd County and continues about 1 mile southwest to the proposed Eastern Substation located along Route 80. From there the project continues about 4 miles south toward Garrett Substation west of Route 680. It continues about 4 miles west to Saltlick Substation, an East Kentucky Power Cooperative substation near the Floyd/Knott county line. The project then crosses the county line into Knott County and continues about 6 miles southwest to the Soft Shell Substation northeast of Route 1098.

The Kentucky Power project team invites landowners in the project area to visit KentuckyPower.com/Garrett to learn more about the project, enter a virtual open house and provide feedback by Monday, April 19. The online open house complies with physical distancing recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during COVID-19.

Area landowners can expect to receive a packet in the mail that includes additional project details and a comment card they can return with their feedback. The packet also includes an invitation to two live virtual town hall events on April 1 that landowners can join online or by phone to learn more about the project, ask questions and share input.

The project team plans to use feedback from the virtual open house, comment cards, virtual town hall events and additional field work to determine a power line route that minimizes impact to the community and environment.

Company officials expect to file an application with the Kentucky Public Service Commission this fall to seek approval for the project. If the project receives approval, company representatives expect construction to begin in the summer of 2023 and conclude at the end of 2024.

Visit the website for additional information about the project.

Kentucky Power, with headquarters in Ashland, provides electric service to approximately 165,000 customers in 20 eastern Kentucky counties, including Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Clay, Elliott, Floyd, Greenup, Johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Magoffin, Martin, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike and Rowan. Kentucky Power is an operating company in the AEP system, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity and custom energy solutions to 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system. AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.