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AEP reports pole replacements, route‑mile progress in Patrick County fiber build
Summary
Appalachian Power told Patrick County officials that 314 miles of fiber have been built system‑wide and 148 miles in Patrick County; AEP reported 819 poles needing replace across the project (243 in Patrick County) and provided estimates for remaining route completion.
An Appalachian Power (AEP) representative updated the Patrick County board on the company’s portion of the multi‑county fiber backbone, describing progress on construction, pole replacements and point‑of‑presence sites.
Rob Mann reported that the larger project has completed about 314 miles to date and that in Patrick County AEP has built about 148 miles with 31 miles remaining, across several named routes. He said distribution "make ready" work identified 819 poles for replacement across the overall project, of which 243 are in Patrick County. Mann described route‑specific timelines: Dobbins (roughly a month left), Elamsville (~2 months), Pole Bridge (estimated 4–6 months) and Meadows Sedan (not yet started).
Mann said AEP has installed generators at some point‑of‑presence sites and that testing and commissioning will follow. He told board members that AEP is completing internal testing and splicing before turning routes over to River Street for service activation. "Once the generator is installed, we can run some tests and commission that point of presence site," Mann said.
Board members asked whether AEP had "lit up" any routes; Mann said not yet and emphasized AEP’s internal testing sequence and resource allocations. He cautioned the board that additional pole swaps and engineering design adjustments may arise when crews encounter poles that AEP must replace to support the larger cable.
