Is the Windsor–New Ellenton Power Line Near Cedar Meadows? What Buyers and Sellers Should Check Now

In July 2023, a proposed power line brought Cedar Meadows neighbors to a meeting at Three Runs Plantation. That line now has a selected route. For the next two years or so, the stage most likely to affect a south Aiken farm sale, there won't be a record of it at the courthouse. Central Electric Power Cooperative posted its "final selected" route for the Windsor–New Ellenton 115-kV line in March 2026. It says right-of-way work runs from spring 2026 through 2028. Until an easement is signed and recorded, or a condemnation is filed with the Clerk of Court, the line exists only as mailed notices, survey contacts, and conversations with right-of-way agents. A title search won't find any of that. On a farm with a house, it's the seller's disclosure statement and a buyer's own questions that bring it out.

The 2023 Map That Named Cedar Meadows Has Been Replaced

The first version of this project gave Central 44 route segments to choose from, labeled A through TT. Five of them ran next to or near the equestrian neighborhoods south of Aiken. One of them, segment JJ, would have run between Cedar Meadows Equestrian and Bridle Creek, crossed where Cedar Creek meets Upper Three Runs, and followed Three Runs Plantation Drive to Eagle Road.

That map caused the 2023 response. About 150 residents of Bridle Creek, Three Runs Plantation, Cedar Meadows Equestrian, Cedar Creek, The Paddocks, and the Old Dibble Road area met at Three Runs Plantation to organize. A month later, State Sen. Tom Young estimated that about 500 people came to an Aiken County Legislative Delegation meeting where the line was discussed. Soon after, Aiken Electric Cooperative's board voted unanimously to ask Central to pause and look at other routes. Jim Portelli, then president of the Cedar Meadows Homeowners Association, thanked the delegation and residents. He said the equestrian community hoped Central would use existing rights-of-way.

The segment letters from 2023 are now out of date. Central's March 2026 map shows only broad labels: Windsor, New Ellenton, US-78, S-79, S-113, S-114, and SC-19. No public text we've found says the selected route crosses Cedar Meadows, runs near it, or avoids it. The same goes for Bridle Creek, Three Runs Plantation, The Paddocks, and Cedar Creek. Preserve Aiken, the citizen group opposing the route, made a zoomable Google map from Central's image. The group says its overlay could be off by 10 to 100 feet. On a horse property, 100 feet can decide whether a corridor clips a back paddock or stays on the neighbor's land. That's why checking one parcel at a time matters more than any general answer about a neighborhood.

Where the Line Shows Up at Each Stage

South Carolina's recording statute protects later buyers against a written instrument affecting real estate starting from the moment it's recorded in the county land records. An easement that hasn't been signed yet hasn't been recorded. So the stage where a buyer has the most room to ask questions is also the stage that leaves the least in public records.

Central's project page lists the timeline and says right-of-way representatives "will contact affected landowners directly regarding survey activities and easement acquisition discussions," with dates "subject to refinement." The condemnation steps come from the Eminent Domain Procedure Act. Once the owner rejects or doesn't accept the offer, the condemnor may file the Condemnation Notice with the Clerk of Court.

Where the Disclosure Statement Comes In

During the right-of-way stage, the form that carries the most weight is the South Carolina Real Estate Commission's Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement. Section V asks the owner whether they have "any actual knowledge or notice" of the following, among other items:

17. Easements (access, conservation, utility, other), party walls, shared private driveway, private roads, released mineral rights, or encroachments from or to adjacent real property.

18. Legal actions, claims, foreclosures, bankruptcies, tenancies, judgments, tax liens, other liens, first rights of refusal, insurance issues, or governmental actions that could affect title to the property.

The section heading also mentions "notice from a governmental agency affecting this real property." The form doesn't name transmission projects, and it doesn't say whether a cooperative's project mailer counts under question 17 or 18. A seller holding one of Central's letters should get that answer from a real estate attorney. Three other parts of the form apply no matter which box it falls under. A "No Representation" answer doesn't excuse leaving out information the owner knows. A real estate licensee has to disclose material adverse facts they actually know about, whatever the owner answers. And the owner has to deliver the statement before the contract is signed, unless the contract says otherwise, and promptly correct any material inaccuracy found later.

The form has a gap that matters a lot in horse country. The Act covers residential property with one to four dwelling units. A Cedar Meadows farm with a house is covered. A bare acreage tract bought as a future barn site isn't, so a land buyer has no disclosure statement to rely on.

What a Buyer Can Check Before the Due Diligence Period Ends

1. Ask the seller in writing whether they've received any mail, survey requests, or calls from Central Electric Power Cooperative or its right-of-way representatives about the Windsor–New Ellenton project. A written answer covers bare land too, where there's no disclosure form.
2. Contact Central directly. The project email is [email protected], and the phone lines are 803-255-2977 and 855-806-8863 toll free. Central asks callers to leave a name, property address, and phone number, and says a representative will call back.
3. Compare the parcel with Central's selected-route map, and use Preserve Aiken's overlay only as a rough guide, given its stated margin of error.
4. Ask your closing attorney to check the Clerk of Court as well as recorded easements. That is where a condemnor may file a Condemnation Notice. Under South Carolina's lis pendens statute, a plaintiff "may file" a notice of a pending action, and only a filed notice gives constructive notice.
5. Walk the boundaries with the plat in hand, looking for fresh survey stakes or flagging along the property lines, and ask about any you find.

If the Letter Came to Your Farm

Getting outreach from Central isn't the same as being served with a condemnation. Under the Eminent Domain Procedure Act, the condemnor first has to get an appraisal, make it available to the landowner, and make reasonable, diligent efforts to negotiate compensation. With reasonable notice, it can also enter the property beforehand to survey, locate the proposed improvement, or appraise. If talks don't produce an agreement, a formal Condemnation Notice states the offered amount. The owner then has 30 days after service to accept or reject it in writing, and not responding counts as a rejection. A challenge to the condemnor's right to take the property must be filed separately in the Court of Common Pleas within 30 days of service. If the dispute is only about compensation, the condemnor chooses either a trial or an appraisal panel. On the panel route, the landowner gets 30 days to appoint a member.

For a seller, these deadlines can overlap with a listing calendar. A farm under contract while its owner is still negotiating with right-of-way agents needs clear disclosure and a closing attorney involved early. Electric cooperatives get their condemnation authority from S.C. Code § 58-27-130. None of this is legal advice. It explains why the timing of a sale matters and why an attorney belongs on the team.

Where Things Stand This Fall

The public record goes through the summer. On June 16, 2026, Aiken County Council unanimously passed a resolution encouraging Central to use rights-of-way and easements it already holds and to give the public chances to weigh in. On July 14, Preserve Aiken gave a presentation to Realtors at the Keller Williams Realty office on Park Avenue. Corinne Young said the goal was to "bring this into the court of public opinion." The group says about 50 properties would be crossed and is asking for a route along existing roads and easements. Aiken Electric has said the upgrades are needed for grid resiliency and county growth. Central describes the line as connecting two existing transmission lines to strengthen reliability. As of this writing, we haven't found any public report of a route change after July 2026.

A Few Questions Buyers Ask

Does the 2026 route cross Cedar Meadows? No public written source we've found says it does or doesn't. Checking the specific parcel with Central is the only reliable answer.

Wasn't this line supposed to be finished already? In August 2023, WJBF reported that Central hoped to begin construction in 2025 and finish in 2026. After the pause, Central's current schedule puts construction in 2028 through 2029 and service in 2029.

Will my title commitment flag it? Only once something has been recorded or filed. A proposed easement that hasn't been signed won't show up as a recorded one.

If you're buying or selling a farm anywhere between Windsor and New Ellenton while this right-of-way work is going on, Lea at Distinctive Horse Properties can help you check the parcel against Central's route, line up the questions for the seller and the closing attorney, and judge what a corridor near a back paddock means for the way the farm actually works. Let's Connect.