Transmission lines up to 175 feet tall could cut through Franklin County as part of a 147-mile power-line project driven largely by data center demand.

Grid Growth Ventures plans to build high-voltage lines across eight Ohio counties, including Franklin. The company's Franklin County public input session is Monday, Sept. 28, from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the Franklin County Fairgrounds Edwards Building, 4100 Columbia St., Hilliard.

The project, called Grid Growth West, includes two 765-kilovolt (kV) lines and one 345-kV line. The 765-kV structures would stand about 175 feet tall with a 180-foot right-of-way, according to the Springfield News-Sun. The 345-kV line would use 150-foot structures. Substations are planned for Clark, Union and Franklin counties.

No final route has been selected. AEP is also the majority owner of Transource, one of the two companies behind Grid Growth. The company said it will spend the rest of 2026 narrowing study segments before announcing a preferred route in early 2027, according to its announcement packet.

PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, selected Grid Growth from roughly two dozen proposals in early 2026 to address a reliability gap. PJM forecasts nearly 4,800 megawatts of additional electricity demand across the region by 2032, driven by data centers, electrification and other emerging technologies, according to NBC4.

That demand hits close to home. New Albany's International Business Park hosts a dense cluster of data centers served primarily by American Electric Power or The Energy Cooperative, according to the city's data center FAQ. AEP is also a partner in Transource Energy, the Grid Growth parent company.

At a Sept. 24 open house in Marysville, Union County resident Jennings Heflin said the proposed path could cross near his property. "If the lines go through where they're talking about on the property line, it could devalue my house," Heflin told NBC4.

Grid Growth spokesperson Scott Blake said at the Marysville session that the company is still gathering input. He said a second round of public meetings will follow the preferred-route announcement in early 2027.

The Monday, Sept. 28 Franklin County session uses an open-house format with no formal presentation. Stations cover PJM's role, project timelines, engineering specs, routing maps, environmental protections, agricultural impacts and the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) approval process.

Residents who cannot attend can submit feedback online at GridGrowthVentures.com/WesternOhio or by mail. The feedback window closes Thursday, Oct. 15. The OPSB is expected to rule in late 2027, with construction running from late 2027 through summer 2030, according to the Springfield News-Sun.

The Grid Growth project contact is Kia Clay at [email protected] or 513-830-9050.