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Oak Creek to McGuireville 69kV Project
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About the Project
We plan to build a new 69kV power line to connect the Oak Creek substation (near Highway 179 and Jacks Canyon Road) and McGuireville substation (near Cornville Road and Restoration Loop). This project will increase reliability and redundancy in the communities of Sedona, Village of Oak Creek and the Verde Valley. Construction is expected to begin Summer 2025.
Strengthening Reliability
The project will add a new power line in order to strengthen reliability in the community. Currently, the McGuireville and Oak Creek substations are each served by single power lines. Adding a new line to connect the two substations will create a second line into each substation and will:
- increase reliability and reduce customer outages, and
- decrease restoration times when outages occur.
Given the potential risk of wildfire in this area, the new line will follow our wildfire safety guidelines, including vegetation management such as tree trimming, creating defensible space around poles by removing vegetation and brush, and other operational protocols.
Project Route:
Contact Us
For questions or additional information regarding the project, please contact our Construction Outreach Consultant:
Teresa Makinen, MakPro, at 602-421-3069 or apsprojects@makprosvc.com or
Darla DeVille, APS Public Affairs Manager, at 928-499-9135 or Darla.Deville@aps.com.
Project Lifecycle
In order to build a new transmission line, planning, siting and permitting processes take place before construction can begin. This project is currently in the permitting phase with the Coconino National Forest. For more information, visit the Forest Service project page. Construction is expected to begin Summer 2025.
Community Updates:
Community Letter - March 2025
Newsletter
Open House Boards
Project Brochure
Route Options
USFS Coconino National Forest Scoping Letter
Frequently Asked Questions
In order to build a new transmission line, planning, siting and permitting processes take place before construction can begin. The initial planning and line siting processes, which include evaluating several route options and potential environmental impacts as well as community outreach began in 2018.
Community Outreach — Route options and environmental studies were presented to the public at an Open House in the Village of Oak Creek in June 2019 where community members provided input on the proposed routes. Project updates were also provided to the community. We have also engaged with the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors, Yavapai County Public Works Department, the Big Park Regional Coordinating Council and the Beaver Creek Community Association about the project and collected input.
Permitting Process — Because the route alignment will cross U.S. Forest Service land, the Coconino National Forest must also evaluate route options and project findings. As part of the National Environmental Policy Act process, the Forest Service conducts community outreach and provides opportunities for public input. Please visit the National Forest project page for more details on the National Environmental Policy Act process.
Route Selection — The route for the project was influenced by community feedback. It is a hybrid of overhead and underground installation, with installation of approximately 65-ft tall power poles to accommodate the new overhead power line.APS works to balance the energy needs of our customers while protecting the environment and natural beauty of the area. The new power line will be built on steel single-circuit monopoles, approximately 65 ft feet in height. The poles are self-weathering and will take on a rust-colored look designed to blend with the red rock scenery in the area.
Along the route in some areas, the new line may consolidate with an existing line, requiring a double-circuit monopole (six total wires on the same pole). The typical right-of-way will be 30 to 40 feet wide to allow for construction and maintenance of the line.
The route for the project is a hybrid of overhead and underground installation. There are several challenges that prevent APS from considering undergrounding the entire line.
- Undergrounding would impact multiple environmentally protected sites.
- Undergrounding would require widening the right-of-way to safely maintain the new underground line and existing overhead line, which would create a greater visual impact than the preferred alternative of combining a single, overhead line.
- The soil in the area is extremely rocky, which makes digging lengthy and costly. It also would likely require blasting to get through the larger underground boulders.
- APS reviewed the cost to underground the entire project and determined it would not be in line with our commitment to keep customer rates as low as possible.
We are working with the Forest Service to identify areas where we could utilize a responsible project budget to underground as many miles of line as possible.
