Tell me more about these lines.
A useful way to think about transmission lines is to compare them to the nation’s highway system. High voltage lines, like interstate highways, carry a lot of load, moving large quantities of power within and across a region. Typically, these lines carry electricity over long distances, usually from a power plant to a distribution point in a city or sometimes to a large factory. They generally carry between 138,000 and 765,000 volts. The higher the voltage, the more electrical current a line will carry. Distribution lines, which are like city streets, connect to the transmission system and carry lesser voltage to your home.
And, just as new roads help to alleviate traffic jams, new transmission lines help reduce bottlenecks on the electric grid, increase access to low-cost generation, improve electric reliability and help our nation keep up with future electricity needs.
To keep enough power flowing to homes and businesses, there must be enough transmission to carry electricity from power plants to end users.
Why would OG&E build a line in my area?
OG&E has been building and operating transmission lines in Oklahoma for decades. Along with the state’s other electric utilities, we have played an important role in making sure there are adequate electric transmission highways available all across Oklahoma. These high-capacity lines, built in cooperation with other utilities in the region, make good sense because they make better use of land and are more efficient and cost-effective than smaller, patchwork projects.
How will I know if a line will be located on my property?
OG&E will notify landowners by mail and/or telephone if their property lies along a selected route.
Will I be compensated for a line placed on my property?
Yes. OG&E or its representative will meet with you to negotiate the acquisition of an easement that will permit the line to cross your property.
What is an easement?
An easement is neither a purchase of property nor a lease. It is an interest to use for a stated purpose real property that is owned by another person. Unlike a lease, an easement does not give the holder a right to possess the property. Utility companies like OG&E seek to negotiate easements with property owners in order to obtain the right to survey for, construct and maintain facilities such as high-voltage power lines.
How do you decide where to build?
When determining the route for new lines, OG&E employs a fair and unbiased process free of outside influence. To do that, the company hires nationally recognized firms that use established methods to develop the line route that best limits the new line’s impact on people, property and the environment.
Along with input from local, state and federal officials as needed, many factors are considered in identifying possible routes. Engineering, environmental and cultural factors are carefully considered. The greatest weight is given to limiting the number of existing homes that are close to the line. Other factors include limiting locations near schools, churches, wildlife habitat, wetlands and other sensitive areas. Thousands of potential routes are routinely identified and scored based on these factors.
One or more of the routes with scores indicating the least impact is discussed at open houses in communities along the route(s). Input from these meetings is factored into the final evaluation. Some small adjustments may be made and the final route is identified and communicated to property owners and nearby communities.
What do these power lines look like?
The structures that carry these lines vary in size, typically between 60 and 100 feet tall, and can be spaced 1,000 feet or more apart depending on the size of the line. The structures are made of steel or wood. In some instances, the company will use a single pole design, in others an H-frame design, and yet in others, steel lattice towers may be used. Spacing and pole design vary based on voltage, terrain and other factors. OG&E uses the latest available designs and materials to minimize the impact of the line on the landscape.
What about health risks?
Some landowners ask if their health might be affected by electric lines. They may have read online and elsewhere that power lines affect human health. One topic of speculation is whether there is a link between electric and magnetic fields (EMFs), which are emitted from virtually every electronic device, and your health.
Rest assured that large-scale scientific studies have failed to find a connection between EMFs and human health. The National Institutes of Health, the American Medical Association and the American Cancer Society have prepared reports concluding there is no evidence that EMFs produce adverse health effects.
Typical EMF levels for high-voltage power lines decrease rapidly from the edge of the right of way to near zero 300 feet away. For the sake of comparison, a hair dryer generates about 1200 times more EMF exposure for the user versus standing directly under a transmission line – and even a baby monitor creates a higher degree of exposure when placed near a sleeping infant.
I’ve also heard they disrupt pacemakers. Is this true?
The American Heart Association says modern pacemakers have built-in features to protect them from most types of interference produced by electrical devices you might encounter in your daily routine.
We know of no case in which an OG&E line has harmed a pacemaker patient. However, studies have shown that in some circumstances, voltages and currents from older electrical devices, including cell phones, microwaves and high-voltage lines, may interfere with the operation of some older models of implanted cardiac pacemakers.
If you have concerns about your particular implant, speak with your doctor.
What about other electronic devices?
Modern line design has eliminated problems that in the past may have caused noise or interference with radios, televisions or cell phones. If problems occur near older lines or equipment, contact OG&E’s trained personnel so they can investigate the issue.
According to the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers, power line conductors should not cause degradation of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals. Because a GPS receiver relies on many satellites rather than just one or two, there is no loss of satellite signal when a GPS receiver moves near or underneath a power line.
What about property values?
While we cannot definitively say that having this type of transmission line on, or near, any one particular property will not have an effect on property value, we have gone to great lengths to reduce the number of existing homes that could be affected.
Transmission lines exist in residential areas, commercial and industrial parks, natural areas, agricultural lands and urban centers. Many homes and businesses in Oklahoma have been built immediately adjacent to existing transmission lines. The market value of these homes varies by style and size, but many can be found with values in the $400,000 to $500,000 range.
When attempting to place a dollar value on a particular property, a number of factors such as neighborhood, square footage, lot size, land use, irrigation potential and the presence of power lines may come into play.
What about development in the community?
Today, power lines are part of the landscape. Most of us don’t notice them as we go about our daily routine. In OG&E’s service area, there are thousands of miles of transmission lines. Many have been in place for decades and are surrounded by every type of land use and development.
There is no evidence that proximity to a transmission line restricts or decreases community development. OG&E serves more than 250 communities and nowhere have we seen a community fail to develop or prosper as a result of the presence of transmission lines. However, lack of adequate electric service can affect community development.
Are these lines safe?
Yes. But like every kind of electrical installation — from the 110- or 220-volt wiring in your home to a 500,000-volt power line — they must be treated with respect.
OG&E designs and maintains its facilities to meet or exceed rules set forth in the National Electrical Safety Code. This code specifies a minimum safe clearance for each voltage level. OG&E builds its lines so the clearance between the wires of a power line and the ground meets or exceeds the minimum safe clearance set forth in the code.
