The work includes installation of new, automated equipment and technology in substations and along power lines serving more than 25,000 customers in parts of
'While we cannot eliminate the possibility of outages occurring due to reasons out of our control, like severe weather, we can take steps to minimize the impact of service interruptions when they do occur, often limiting them to just a brief or momentary outage,' said
Utility personnel are upgrading electrical equipment in two
These electrical devices work like a circuit breaker in a home that shuts off power when trouble occurs, with the added benefit of automatically reenergizing a substation or power line within seconds for certain types of outages to keep power safely flowing to customers. This technology is safer and more efficient because it often allows utility personnel to automatically restore service to customers in lieu of sending a crew to investigate.
If the device senses a more serious issue, like a fallen tree on electrical equipment, it will isolate the outage to that area to limit the total number of affected customers. The device's smart technology will quickly pinpoint the location of the fault and help utility personnel better understand the cause of the outage to help speed restoration.
To determine the best locations for these automated devices, utility personnel, in conjunction with the
Additional power lines that tie together existing circuits are also being constructed to isolate outages to smaller areas and provide more flexibility in restoring service following outages caused by events such as storms and vehicle accidents. When completed, the work will help reduce the overall number of customers impacted during an outage by switching them to a backup line for faster service restoration.
Lastly, more than 80 capacitor banks are being installed to help ensure all customers served by a single power line receive the same flow of safe, reliable power by evenly distributing electricity down the line. These devices are expected to reduce energy usage for customers served near the beginning of a power line because they will benefit from lower power voltages being fed into their homes or businesses.
The work underway in eastern
Beyond the infrastructure upgrades underway in the greater
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