Council approves Duke Energy easement along golf course for underground reliability tie

Duke Energy representatives presented a request for utility easements affecting the Black Mountain Golf Course. "As part of our overall grid investment strategy, we are taking a holistic look at one of the substations that serves the area," Tyler Van Hook told councilors, describing a proposed circuit tie to improve reliability and enable back-feed during outages.

Van Hook said the construction would include approximately 1,500 feet of underground primary cable, three small underground enclosures and a single overhead span to cross a creek, with an emphasis on avoiding tree removal along the golf-course edge. After technical questions, a council member moved that the council authorize the interim town manager to execute the requested utility easement; the motion was called and passed.