Join our team and be part of a dynamic and innovative work environment where your skills will thrive and your ideas will be valued.
VELCO is proud to have earned the Great Place To Work® Certification™, strengthening its status as one of the top employers in the region. This recognition is based on the Great Place To Work Trust Index survey, where VELCO employees shared their workplace experiences.
Before project permitting, during the permitting phase and during construction, we use this update section to provide news and information about VELCO projects in process. These regular updates ensure that the public can follow and have input into our projects. Here are some highlights. Please check back for additional project updates.
VELCO will hold a public meeting to discuss the upcoming construction of the Franklin County Line Upgrade Project. The meeting will be held on Monday, September 9, 2024, at 5:00 PM at the St. Albans Town Office located at 398 Georgia Shore Road in St. Albans.
Project staff will be present to provide an overview of the construction plans and answer questions about the project. The Franklin County Line Upgrade Project seeks to enhance the reliability and capacity of VELCO’s Georgia-to-Highgate electric transmission line by replacing aging two-pole wood structures with more resilient single-pole steel structures. This upgrade will not only improve the line's reliability but also increase its capacity to accommodate additional in-state renewable energy generation.
Interested participants are encouraged to RSVP on the project website at www.velco.com/fclu or call 802-770-6381.
VELCO sent letters to landowners and towns providing notice of construction scheduled beginning in September 2024.
VELCO expects to receive all the required permits to begin work in September. Please find an overview of some of hte activities taking place over the next three months.
The vegetation crews will be the first on site, starting in Georgia and moving northward along the transmission line corridor. They will be cutting vegetation within the right-of-way (ROW) and select trees on the ROW edges to ensure safe and reliable operation of the line. This work will be carried out similarly to our routine vegetation maintenance and will include mowing, mechanical cutting with chain saws, and herbicide application. For efficiency, VELCO postponed the 2023 vegetation maintenance to align the work with this project. We anticipate the vegetation management work along the line to be completed by January 2025.
Shortly after the vegetation work begins, around September 16, our access crews will also start in Georgia and follow the vegetation crews. The access crew will be working to improve existing access routes, constructing new ones where needed, creating level working areas around the poles, and preparing for drilling crews to begin in October. This preparation work will continue throughout 2024 and 2025.
In preparation for the vegetation and access work, our survey crews will begin marking the ROW edges with stakes and/or flags in mid-August. We kindly ask that you leave these markers in place during the duration of this project, as they help guide our crews and ensure the work stays within the project boundaries. Once the ROW edges are marked, the survey crew will then stake the locations for the new poles and any associated guy anchors. This information will assist our access preparation crews.
The VELCO Project team will host an informational session on Monday, September 9, 5:00 pm to 7:00pm, at the St. Albans Town Office located at 398 Georgia Shore Road. We invite you to attend to learn more about the construction work planned for the next two years and to ask any questions you may have. Please RSVP at www.velco.com/fclu or call 802-770-6381.
VELCO sent a letter to towns and landowners to announce a series of community meetings on November 2, 3, 9 & 10.
The VELCO Project Team received great questions from community members at the November community meetings. We have compiled those questions in a Frequently Asked Questions document. This is the first version of the Franklin County Line Upgrade FAQs and will be updated as the project moves forward. The FAQs are available here.
VELCO sent a letter to towns and landowners to provide updates on upcoming field assessment work being performed in February and March.
VELCO sent letters to towns and landowners introducing the project and providing notification of environmental and right-of-way assessments.
VELCO met with the Town of St. Albans on June 6 to introduce the project and answer questions. The full presentation is available here. [Link to PDF]
VELCO sent a letter to towns and landowners to provide updates on field assessment work being performed.
Additional Field Assessments: VELCO and its contractors will continue field assessments through the fall 2022, walking the corridor that runs over your property. Our purpose is to review existing conditions, perform construction site reviews and continue surveys to identify suitable access points, laydown areas for materials during construction, and trees that pose an unacceptable risk to the new line.
Soil Borings: In order to safely reposition the new poles, VELCO will need to conduct approximately 30 soil borings in October at various points along the 16.6-mile route. These borings are completed using a tracked rig with an auger and will be temporary in nature. Our commitment is that any disturbed area will be stabilized and restored. Additionally, no work will be done without first giving advance notice if in fact a soil boring needs to take place on your property.
Vegetation Maintenance and Tree Clearing: The new location of the poles will be closer to the edge of the corridor, and will require tree clearing to the full extent of the right-of-way where it is not already cleared to the full 150’ width. Trees outside of the ROW that pose a reliability threat to the new line will also need to be removed. Rob Naramore and Raven Buttice from VELCO’s Real Estate and Right-of-Way team will work directly with you and your neighbors seeking to collaboratively confirm/acquire rights to additional trees. Review introductory profiles of Rob and Raven HERE. They will serve as your main points of contact for ROW matters and look forward to working with you throughout the project.
VELCO sent a letter to towns and landowners with an invitation to join one or more community meetings to discuss the project.
The VELCO project team is hosting four community meetings to provide a forum to learn all aspects of interest about the project including the new line's purpose, proposed design, and work timeline. The VELCO project team will be available to answer questions and listen to community input.
Download Community Meeting presentation here [Link to PDF]
