S. WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – PPL Electric Utilities intends to build new transmission lines and a substation in South Whitehall Township near the site of a massive data center complex being proposed for 410 acres of land across from Parkland High School. 

Lehigh County property records show PPL recently purchased more than 30 acres of land near Huckleberry Road and Herman Lane. 

PPL’s plans, which must be approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), show that the substation would be built north of Huckleberry Road, adjacent to PPL Electric’s existing Susquehanna-Wescosville transmission line.

PPL’s existing Siegfried-Wescosville transmission line would be split and extended approximately half a mile to the proposed substation.

Additionally, existing Susquehanna-Wescosville and Wescosville-Central transmission lines would be split and routed into the proposed substation.

Three new transmission lines would run east for about 1.5 miles from the proposed substation to what PPL calls “a new customer facility.”

PPL did not identify the new customer. But the Atlas Industrial project, which calls for six data center buildings totaling 5,038,100 square feet, would be about that distance from PPL’s land.

The electric company, based in Allentown, said it’s working with landowners in the area to purchase the necessary easements for the lines. The corridor would be about 250 feet wide.

PPL said if it’s unable to reach an agreement with a property owner, it will file an application with the PUC, seeking authorization to use eminent domain.

“This project is designed to strengthen the reliability and resiliency of the transmission system for all customers. By creating additional pathways for electricity delivery, we’re ensuring customers have dependable service while meeting the growing demand for power in this area,” a PPL spokesperson told 69 News, via email.

The transmission lines would be built above the ground. “The vast majority of PPL Electric’s transmission system is above ground,” the company said in a fact sheet about the project. 

Because underground lines often cost more to build, cause more disturbance to the earth, and are harder to repair, “underground transmission construction typically only makes sense in areas where there is no viable above-ground route,” PPL said.

Construction for the transmission lines and substation will take about two years. If the PUC gives its approval, the project will begin this summer and be completed by summer 2028.

PPL said it hosted an informational open house about the proposal, dubbed its Orefield Project, on January 14 at the South Whitehall Township municipal building.

More information about the project can be found here.

The Atlas Industrial project was set to go before the South Whitehall Township Planning Commission last week, but the meeting was canceled to give the developer time to address the many comments township staff and consultants included in their initial 101-page review.