Valley Electric Association is constructing the first phase of what the rural electric co-op is calling "the Western Loop," a planned ring of high-voltage transmission lines around Pahrump to provide for the town's continuing residential growth.

The transmission lines are not intended for any specific new subdivision developments, said Staci Behnke, VEA's marketing manager, but rather for new growth in general. VEA's aim for the high-voltage lines is to bring uninterrupted electric service to the areas inside the loop.

"The new transmission line will give us increased reliability for the entire valley and allow us to meet the growing energy needs of our members," said Behnke in a statement.

The project got under way Wednesday; the first phase is expected to be done by June.

"It's to avoid a blackout in the future, because there's so many people coming in," Behnke said. "It is because of the growth."

The first phase involves building a 230-kilovolt transmission line that will stretch from the existing Vista Substation near East Leslie Street in far north Pahrump to Nevada Power's Northwest Substation at Johnnie.

Another transmission line designed to carry 138 kilovolts will start at VEA's substation on Thousandaire Boulevard and will run to Plantation Street at the southwest end of Pahrump, continuing across public lands to a new facility to be known as the Charleston Substation at the west end of Charleston Park Avenue.

VEA plans to replace the poles along Thousandaire with sturdier, taller ones in order to carry the higher voltage loads on heavier-duty lines.

"Growth is booming right now, and the timing is right to construct the lines," Behnke said.