Jacobs, WSP Will Engineer AEP's 765-kV Push; Ohio Starts 2027
The engineers are now in place for the biggest 765-kV buildout in the country, and the first field crews are expected to mobilize in the first quarter of 2027. American Electric Power (AEP) announced Oct. 29 that Jacobs will support its seven-state eastern transmission portfolio and WSP USA its four-state western portfolio, Engineering News-Record (ENR) reports. The first major construction package is a roughly $5 billion, three-line 765-kV build in southern Ohio.
Background
ENR reports that AEP’s $37 billion transmission program splits into about $17 billion for projects driven by regional transmission organizations, $11 billion for system reliability and $9 billion for transmission serving individual customers. The utility plans to nearly triple its 765-kV mileage. It already owns about 90% of the nation’s existing 765-kV lines, according to the report.
Neither Jacobs nor WSP disclosed a contract value. ENR notes the $37 billion is planned systemwide investment, not the value of the two awards.
Jacobs described a broad owner’s-engineer-style scope: engineering and design, project management and controls, siting, public outreach, right-of-way acquisition and environmental services. Its team includes ORC (formerly O.R. Colon Associates), GFT (formerly Bannett Flaming TranSystems) and RC Commonwealth. Jacobs said eastern work is already underway and will ramp up as the portfolio grows. WSP gave fewer specifics, saying its work could span planning, environmental review, permitting, engineering, program management and project delivery.
The Ohio project is the clearest near-term signal. Per ENR, three 765-kV lines would serve SB Energy’s planned 10.4-GW data center campus at the former Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant site in Piketon. Each line adds about 3.2 GW of capacity, with targeted in-service dates at the end of 2028, 2029 and 2030. AEP says it has secured substantially all required rights-of-way. Final routes for some segments are still under evaluation and need Ohio Power Siting Board approval. PJM, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and FERC approvals are also still needed.
Analysis
Design and program management is consolidating at the top. Two firms now hold program-level engineering, controls and siting across 11 states. For subcontractors, that means standards, drawings and schedule logic will be set by Jacobs in the east and WSP in the west before a construction bid reaches the street. Jacobs said its integrated model is meant to “standardize and scale” delivery, according to CEO Bob Pragada. Crews should expect repeatable design templates, which favors contractors that can build the same structure type many times over.
The ROW work is mostly done at Piketon. Jacobs’ scope includes right-of-way acquisition, but AEP has already secured substantially all the easements for the Ohio project. Our inference: the Piketon packages that matter now are construction, not land. Access roads, clearing, foundations, structure erection, stringing and substation tie-ins are the work that follows, though ENR does not list the packages or say how they will be bid.
The schedule is tight. Construction is expected to start in Q1 2027, and the first 3.2-GW line targets service by the end of 2028. By our arithmetic, that leaves about two years to build the first 765-kV line, with the second and third lines following a year apart. A staggered schedule like that suits crews that can move from one line to the next. It also puts pressure on anyone who needs long-lead materials or specialized equipment.
Not every dollar is a 765-kV dollar. ENR separately reported Oct. 20 that the Energy Department finalized a $1.6 billion loan guarantee for AEP’s reconductoring and rebuilding of 5,000 miles of high-voltage lines across five states, part of a $3.56 billion program. An AEP spokesman told ENR contractors will be chosen “on a project-by-project basis.” That is a different work type from greenfield 765-kV: rebuild and reconductor crews, not extra-high-voltage structure crews.
The customer carries the Ohio cost. The customer pays project costs through payments that run 20 years after each line enters service, and commercial agreements were finalized in Q3. That lowers the owner-side risk of the first lines, though regulatory approvals still gate the remaining work.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Line and structure crews: Piketon’s three 765-kV lines have targeted in-service dates at the end of 2028, 2029 and 2030. Position equipment and crews for a Q1 2027 mobilization. Ask Jacobs’ project controls team how structure packages will be sequenced across the three lines.
- Foundation and civil contractors: With substantially all ROW secured, access, clearing and foundation work is the earliest field scope at Piketon. Final routes for some segments still need Ohio Power Siting Board approval, so price segment-by-segment and expect some scope to firm up later.
- Substation and E&I trades: The project map shows corridors tying into AEP substations near Cheshire and Hanging Rock. Those tie-ins are the likeliest substation scope, but the source does not say how or when they will be packaged.
- Reconductoring and rebuild crews: Selection is project by project under the $3.56 billion, five-state program, backed by the $1.6 billion DOE loan guarantee. Target the rebuild work, not the 765-kV packages, if your crews are sized for existing-line work.
- Right-of-way, survey, environmental and permitting firms: Jacobs’ scope includes siting, outreach, ROW and environmental services, and its named team members are ORC, GFT and RC Commonwealth. In the seven eastern states, the likely path for this work runs through those firms, though ENR does not say how Jacobs will staff or subcontract it. In the four western states, WSP’s role could include permitting and environmental review, so approach WSP USA’s program team there.
- Contacting AEP directly: ENR names no procurement contact or bid portal for these packages. The only selection guidance in the source is the “project-by-project” statement from an AEP spokesman. Verify procurement channels with AEP Transmission, whose name appears on the Piketon map credit, before assuming a package is open.
- Schedule risk: The first line is targeted for the end of 2028, and PJM, PUCO and FERC approvals are still pending for the remaining work. Build approval-driven slippage clauses into any Piketon subcontract.
