Electric Grid Rebuilding Moves Forward
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Bradley Hale (center) with Atwell and Gent reviews plans for major improvements to Water Valley’s aging electrical grid during Monday night’s Utilities Commission meeting. Looking on are, from left, commissioners Terry Allen Jr., Brandon Presley, Ray Hawkins and Dr. Barry Weeks, along with commission attorney Chris Latimer.
WATER VALLEY – After decades of deterioration and a devastating January ice storm, Water Valley’s electric system is stronger than it has been in years, with another round of major improvements now being prepared to replace aging lines and equipment throughout the city.
Bradley Hale, an engineer with Atwell and Gent, gave that assessment Monday night as he updated the Water Valley Utilities Commission on permanent storm repairs and outlined construction plans that will bring significant changes to the city’s electrical network. Atwell and Gent, an engineering firm working to evaluate the city’s aging electrical system and develop plans for improvements to its distribution lines and substations, was hired prior to the utility commission.
“I hope everybody’s pleased with the way permanent repairs have been going so far,” Hale told commissioners. “Water Valley is stronger today than it’s been in the last two decades by far.”
Hale said crews replaced more than 60 poles during Winter Storm Fern and have now replaced approximately 110, with another 40 to 50 remaining.
Much of the work involves replacing aging No. 6 copper wire, a relatively small electrical conductor used on older power lines in the city. The deteriorating wire proved especially vulnerable during January’s ice storm, repeatedly breaking under the weight of ice as crews struggled to restore electricity.
Hale recalled the difficulties crews encountered while restoring electricity in freezing conditions.
“Some places, yes, it was easier to put it back up, and we’d put it back up and go two more spans, and it’d fall back down behind them,” Hale said. “It happened more than one time.”
The work represents a major change from the condition described by engineer Jeff Atwell during a July 2025 presentation to city officials. Atwell said the system had suffered from decades of underinvestment, leaving Water Valley dependent on aging equipment, a single substation and electrical circuits that exposed large portions of the city to widespread outages. Some substation equipment was more than 70 years old, while portions of downtown and the area serving Water Valley High School still operated on an outdated 4-kilovolt system.
Atwell also identified excessive electrical losses as a major concern, with the older lines contributing significantly to the problem. The improvements now underway are intended to address those longstanding weaknesses while replacing equipment damaged during January’s storm.
Tree Trimming Contract Awarded
In one of Monday night’s major actions, commissioners unanimously awarded a $185,629 contract to Looks Great Services to complete vegetation clearing along the city’s remaining primary electrical distribution lines. The project follows extensive work during the summer of 2025, when crews cleared approximately 41 miles of electrical rights of way.
Hale said the new contract covers the remaining older 4-kilovolt circuits and two additional circuits serving the hospital and residential neighborhoods. The older 4-kilovolt lines carry electricity at 4,000 volts, compared to 13,000 volts on the city’s newer system. The higher voltage allows electricity to be distributed more efficiently, reducing power losses and improving the system’s capacity to serve customers.
Commission Chairman Brandon Presley said the project will mean the city’s entire primary distribution system has been cleared in less than a year and a half. The contract calls for clearing vegetation approximately 15 feet on either side of the primary lines, including trees up to 12 inches in diameter. Larger trees will be evaluated individually before removal.
The work does not include every individual service line running to homes and businesses.
The contract allows 150 days for completion, and Presley said he hopes crews can begin before Christmas. Residents will receive advance notice of planned electrical interruptions associated with the work, including public announcements and door hangers.
The earlier clearing was funded through a state appropriation, while commissioners discussed using available funding sources for the new contract, including funds associated with electrical infrastructure and broadband facilities.
Grant Funding Supports Next Phase
Hale then turned to a much larger series of improvements that will replace aging electrical lines, poles and transformers throughout Water Valley. The projects are being supported by several sources of state and federal funding.
In April, the Mississippi Legislature approved a $1.2 million appropriation for the city’s electrical system. The funding, secured with assistance from State Rep. Kevin Horan and State Sen. Ben Suber, does not require a local match. Earlier this year, the Delta Regional Authority awarded approximately $1.014 million for improvements to the city’s electrical infrastructure. The Mississippi Development Authority has also approved a Grid Resilience Grant funded through a federal program of approximately $1,000,000, plus a required local match. The grant was awarded to strengthen electrical systems against storms and other disruptions.
The grants support related but distinct projects, including reconstruction of distribution lines and modernization of the existing substation. Hale said engineers have coordinated the projects..
“Through these grants, we always try to make sure that one grant’s helping the other and we’re not changing that same pole twice,” Hale said.
Work Begins at Gore Circle
The next major construction phase will begin at the city’s existing electrical substation on Gore Circle. Hale presented detailed engineering drawings showing how older lines leaving the substation will be replaced with larger wire capable of carrying more electricity.
“We are going to remove the existing obsolete wire that’s coming out of the substation,” Hale said.
The plans call for two new circuits leaving the substation and extending along Simmons Street, where existing poles and wire will be replaced.
“We’re going to change out every pole coming up this street,” Hale said. “Brand new wire. Two circuits coming up this street. We’re going to keep on coming. Everything’s going to be brand new coming up Simmons Street.”
Many existing poles along Simmons Street are located in sidewalks. Hale said engineers plan to move replacement poles outside the pedestrian walkways wherever possible.
The new construction will continue toward Wood Street, providing improved connections to the downtown electrical network.
Blackmur and Downtown Improvements
The project will also build upon permanent repairs already completed along Blackmur Street.
Hale said a new electronic recloser will be installed to prevent electrical problems in that area from interrupting service across much of the city.
The equipment has already been purchased, and the pole where it will be installed is in place.
Once operational, the recloser should help isolate problems affecting Blackmur Street, South Street and nearby apartment complexes. The larger rebuilding program will also extend across Railroad Avenue and into the downtown business district, where existing lines will be replaced and rerouted.
Much of the older 4-kilovolt system serving downtown will be converted to 13-kilovolt service. The higher-voltage system will carry electricity more efficiently, reduce line losses and provide greater flexibility when outages occur.
Hale described plans to bring new lines behind Main Street businesses, following portions of existing utility routes near the railroad depot before crossing Main Street. The changes will allow much of downtown to be served through a connection with the hospital circuit rather than remaining dependent on Circuit 314, which currently supplies electricity to approximately 90 percent of the city.
Hale said the hospital circuit apparently remained energized during January’s ice storm while Circuit 314 suffered extensive damage.
He suggested that the new arrangement could have made a substantial difference during the storm.
“In my opinion this is the best route possible,” Hale said. “I’m not going to say for sure, but just to say that if this would have been done during an ice storm, chances are that Main Street would have never lost power.”
Replacing Old Lines Behind Main Street
Some of the most extensive reconstruction will occur behind downtown businesses along Duncan Street. The area contains aging electrical lines and transformer banks that have raised concerns about reliability, safety and excessive electrical losses.
“This is a wholesale rip and replace,” Presley said.
Hale said engineers reviewed a year’s worth of electrical usage for Main Street customers to determine the proper size of replacement transformers. Some downtown buildings are still served by large transformer banks installed when businesses required more electrical capacity. Those banks can now be replaced with smaller, more efficient equipment.
The oversized equipment consumes electricity even when customers do not need its full capacity.
“It’s cutting down your line loss,” Hale said.
The project will also remove unnecessary overhead wires, relocate poles and eliminate some primary electrical lines crossing above downtown buildings.
New Connections Toward High School
The downtown improvements will connect with additional work extending toward Water Valley High School. Hale said the plans include new electrical routes along North Main Street and connections with existing 13-kilovolt lines near the school.
The project will allow the high school to be converted from its older 4-kilovolt service to 13-kilovolt service.
The conversion will also include replacing oversized transformers with equipment better suited to the school’s electrical needs.
Additional work will serve the agricultural education facilities and remove older lines that will no longer be needed.
Another portion of the project will eliminate electrical lines running through wooded, swampy terrain near residential neighborhoods.
Those lines created significant problems during January’s storm because crews had difficulty reaching damaged equipment.
Hale said the existing route will be removed, with a new three-phase line constructed beside the cemetery to reconnect the affected subdivision.
“Everything that goes through the woods is coming out because we’re going to re-feed it from Blackmur around that way,” Hale said.
Modernizing Existing Substation
Another major project involves modernizing the existing Gore Circle substation through the Mississippi Development Authority’s Grid Resilience Grant program. Hale said the improvements will replace nearly all of the substation’s existing equipment except the main power transformer and four grounding transformers.
The work will include a new control house, a fourth electrical circuit and modern voltage regulation equipment. The existing substation relies on an aging regulator that handles voltage adjustments across the current circuits. Under the new arrangement, 12 regulators will provide more precise voltage control for the four circuits. The new control house will be a self-contained building with updated wiring and equipment. The improvements are intended to increase reliability, reduce electrical losses and allow utility personnel to isolate problems more effectively. Commissioners approved advertising for the control house project.
Second Substation Still in Planning
The distribution improvements are also being designed to accommodate a possible second electrical substation on the north end of Water Valley.
Federal funding has been approved toward that proposed project, but additional matching funds and other requirements must be addressed before construction can proceed.
The second substation is not part of the construction now being authorized.
Hale said engineers are specifying taller, stronger poles to accommodate additional electrical circuits without having to replace the poles again.
That would allow the utility to install new wiring later without replacing the poles again.
Presley emphasized that the work will provide benefits regardless of when the proposed second substation becomes a reality.
“Even if we’re three years getting the second substation, this is going to provide immediate benefits,” Presley said.
Construction Ahead
Commissioners approved the engineering plans for the Circuit 314 improvements and authorized advertising for materials needed for the upcoming construction.
Hale cautioned that federal purchasing requirements could affect the schedule. Materials purchased with federal grant funds must comply with Build America, Buy America requirements, and some equipment has lengthy delivery times.
He suggested that portions of the work could potentially be completed within approximately six months, depending on material availability and other requirements.
Meanwhile, permanent storm repairs continue.
Hale said crews have completed work along County Road 220 and were working in portions of Wagner, with West Lee, Mount Pleasant and Market streets among the next areas scheduled.
Commissioners approved another $48,588.80 in materials for permanent repairs and authorized the purchase of additional utility poles.
