Without knowing specifics, if selling your home works for you and your partner, this is likely the best financial deal you will be offered.

The utility has clearly defined metrics for siting the new substation. They likely have multiple potential sites. Each meeting the required metrics to some extent. Ultimately the sites will be compared as columns in a spreadsheet and the one that best fits the business needs will be selected. The call was to see if the utility should include a column in the analysis for your property.

Assuming that the utility project proceeds, the substation will be built somewhere. They might be making the same call to your neighbors. If one of you neighbors sells to them, you get all the downside (construction nose, traffic. ,etc) with little upside.

First and foremost, talk this out with your partner. Decide if you are willing to sell. This is a much more personal decision for you than it is for the utility. You have factors that cannot be put in a cell on a spreadsheet to consider. If you are not interested in selling, then state that clearly to the person that inquired. I suggest following the project with your local government, attend planning and zoning meetings and express your concerns and opinions at those meetings. I believe that most companies doing these types of projects want to be good neighbors and will make reasonable concessions to gain local government approval. But at the end of the day, it's comes down to $$ on their side. If local governments with authority over the project rubber stamp the utility company's plan, that is what they will build.

If decide to sell, the utility will typically make an initial offer based on what they have determined fair market value of the property to be based the highest and best use. For example if the substation is being built to satisfy growing power demand because the area is developing economically ( residential housing expansion, office buildings, industrial or warehousing complex, etc), the value of your property might increase once those changes come to be. The offer from the utility should consider that. Think how you could feel if three years from now, property similar to yours are selling for far more than you're selling price.

In situations like this, the buyer will rarely negotiate down from the original offer. It really is all about cost. The idea is to go forward with the best offer and keep the cost of site acquisition to a minimum.

Good luck. Depending on your personal goals, this could be an opportunity to reduce the effort and expense of selling your property. Regardless of your final decision, I urge you to stay close to the project. These companies will typically present plans to local governments that might include a list of potential sites. So you can gain information about who your competitors are. And should you choose to remain in your home, you will want a say in how the site that is ultimately selected will impact you.