As Duke Energy proceeds with its plan to install an 80- to 100-foot steel transmission line and power substation along Needmore Road in Swain County, affected property owners refuse to stay silent about what they view as a threat to the very backbone of their community. 

Concerned citizens gather every Monday at Maple Springs Baptist Church amid Duke’s pre-construction activities. This past week, several at the meeting brought their cause to Swain County Commissioners.

“[Duke Energy] made their money, and we would appreciate it if they would be a little bit more considerate our community and our county,” said resident Cheryl Taylor.

Taylor was referencing the fact that Duke Energy in 1988 took over a local power company, inheriting 4,500 acres of Needmore land originally purchased to construct a hydroelectric dam, which had been since abandoned. The NC Wildlife Resources Commission acquired the tract more than 20 years ago for $19 million.

Needmore community member Lori Heisman equated the transmission lines to utilities poles along a four-lane highway — devastating property values and disrupting the natural environment, thus hurting the tourism industry.

Core to the frustrations of many was that two alternative transmission line routes were also considered by Duke Energy, both less invasive to land and residents. The chosen route, according to various speakers, would affect at least 45 families.

While Duke Energy claims to pay fair market value for a 100-foot right-of-way easement onto private property, it was clear on June 16 that homeowners wanted no such transaction.

“The people in this room, a lot of them have lived here their whole lives, and so did their prior generation and the generation before that, and they have plans for all of the generations in the future to have this opportunity, and this really will damage that capability for them,” said Heisman.

“My grandson just walked out the door, just saying he wants to move out of Needmore,” said Erin Holloway, adding that her grandson had always dreamed of remodeling a family home and staying within the community.

Plus, according to Heisman, even those who aren’t impacted now could be in the future. She recalled that while company representatives have assured locals that the easement will impinge very little on private property, they’ve also said it can be easily expanded. “Once we give them an inch, they have the ability to so easily take as many miles as they need,” she said.

As for environmental impacts, locals asserted there were plenty. Duke Energy’s project page states that “Trees and other vegetation within the new corridor will be removed in anticipation of the project construction.”

And yet this new corridor seems most renowned precisely for its trees and vegetation.

“When you go down the road, you see this overarching canopy of trees, and it’s natural, and it’s beautiful, and it’s part of what makes this community special,” Heisman told commissioners.

“[Needmore Road is] the most iconic road in Swain County.”

Taylor agreed. 

“The Needmore area is one of the most beautiful places that we have in this county,” she said.

Several speakers recounted their efforts to learn why this particular route was chosen — and how little information they’d gotten from Duke Energy. 

“Many factors were considered during the route study and siting process, including land use, engineering, natural resources, safety, reliability and community input collected during two open house meetings and during the public comment periods,” the transmission line website reads.

But while Duke Energy representatives attended the group’s May Maple Springs meeting, according to Taylor, they were not eager to explain why Needmore had been selected. Employees were also not willing to share any site reports, said resident Celia Baker, adding that it is misleading for the utility to cite public comment periods. 

“It came out that even of the families directly impacted with these lines coming in, over half of them had not received anything [about the public comment period]. The public hearing meeting, whatever they called it, was back in September of 2025, so most of us didn’t have any clue this was even being discussed or brought up,” she said.

Another audience member added that the meeting wasn’t held in Needmore to accommodate the community, but rather Nantahala. 

Commission Vice Chair Tanner Lawson mentioned a similarly misleading comment. When the initiative first started, Duke Energy came to commissioners and professed to “keep them in the loop,” he said, indicating a lack of follow-through. He suggested the county manager invite a Duke representative to meet with commissioners so that the community and its governing body could share concerns about the route. 

Along those lines, public commenters invited the commissioners to attend the group’s weekly meetings.

The Smoky Mountain News requested comment from Duke Energy but did not receive a response.