February 27, 2009

Officials from Monroe County joined Georgia Transmission here today for a groundbreaking ceremony for an 80,000-foot warehouse and storage complex, the first private Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) project to be registered in the county.

Three county commissioners and several officials from the Monroe County Development Authority attended the event. LEED standards aim to save energy, conserve water and preserve the environment.

The facility, to be built near a training center for Georgia electric membership cooperatives (EMCs), will house parts and equipment for Georgia Transmission and Central Georgia EMC. The project includes a 50,000-square-foot warehouse building, an 18,000-square-foot wire storage area and an uncovered, 12,400-square-foot transformer storage area. Georgia Transmission expects to pay about $50,000 in property taxes and hire four employees for the site, according to Sonda Bradfield, the company’s procurement services manager.

“We believe this location will provide the best solution in terms of accessibility, adequate space and supporting environmental responsibility,” Bradfield said. “We are grateful to our partners Gresco and Stroud for helping us continue to provide reliable service to our members.”

Stroud and Company is the general contractor. Gresco Utility Supply, a long-time service provider for many EMCs, is managing the construction. The building location, adjacent to the Electric Cooperative Training Center on Rumble Road, is central to the 39 EMCs served by Georgia Transmission.

Clearing began last month, and construction is scheduled to be completed by late summer.

–30–

Contact: Terry Cullen
Phone: (770) 270-7207
Email: terry.cullen@gatrans.com