National Grid started up its new Eastover
\nsubstation off route 40 in Schaghticoke recently,
\na move it says will strengthen the system and
\nallow for continued growth in the region, particularly
\nSaratoga County.<\/p>\n
Officials said a decade ago the electric grid
\nin eastern upstate New York was critically close
\nto capacity. The region north of Albany was expanding
\nquickly and new businesses like Global
\nFoundries in Malta and others were beginning
\nto make Tech Valley a reality. Engineers at
\nNational Grid were planning the solution that
\ninvolved new transmission lines, upgraded
\nequipment and new substations.<\/p>\n
“Utilities are more than simply pipes and
\nwires, we are the base that a region can build
\nfrom,” said Ken Daly, National Grid president
\nfor New York.<\/p>\n
“A sea change like what is taking
\nplace in the Capital Region of New York can not
\nhappen without solid utility infrastructure. This
\nis a perfect example of what can happen when
\na strong system exists to foster economic and
\ncommunity growth.”<\/p>\n
Across upstate New York National Grid committed
\nmore than $3 billion in infrastructure
\ninvestment over a 10-year period through 2016,
\nthe company said.<\/p>\n
This investment will help the growth at the
\nLuther Forest Technology Campus in Malta,
\nand encourage growth in the entire region,
\nofficials said.<\/p>\n
The new Eastover substation reinforces
\nthe existing northeast electric system to support
\nnew and future growth, according to the
\ncompany. It will help prevent overloading of
\nnearby stations and increase reliability to
\ncustomers across the region. In addition, more
\nthan three miles of new electric line has been
\nbuilt to facilitate the new station that has been
\nlocated outside residential areas to limit any
\nvisual impact.<\/p>\n
“A manufacturing plant the size and scale
\nof Global Foundries requires the right regional
\ninfrastructure and the work that has been done
\nby National Grid has provided the foundation
\nfor our existing plant as well as continued
\ngrowth and expansion,” said Mike Russo from
\nGlobalFoundries.<\/p>\n
“The continued commitment National Grid
\nis making to encourage development through
\ntheir economic development programs and
\nsignificant infrastructure investments has
\nprovided an environment for small and large
\nbusinesses to not only locate here but experience
\ngrowth as well,” said Michael Tucker, CEO
\nof the Center for Economic Growth.<\/p>\n
The Eastover substation includes some of the
\nlatest utility technology, said Daly. “This station
\nwill improve our ability to detect outages and limit the number of customers out of power. At
\nthe same time, this station adds resiliency to the
\nsystem, providing for back-up power sources in
\nthe case of an interruption, and adds capacity
\nfor future growth in the region.”<\/p>\n
Daly added that modernizing the grid is a key
\npriority of National Grid’s Connect21 strategy
\nand aligns with New York’s Reforming the Energy
\nVision (REV) initiative. Both initiatives
\nare designed to help increase use of alternative
\nenergy resources and promote expanded
\nenergy efficiency, renewable energy, distributed
\ngeneration, and energy storage programs.<\/p>\n
“Extreme weather is on the rise and we have
\ncommitted to a long-term investment strategy
\nthat will improve the reliability and resilience of
\nour system like we have done here in the northeast
\nregion,” said Daly. “We see the benefits of
\nthat investment in day-to-day events as well as
\nin how quickly we respond to storms.”<\/p>\n
Since 2007, National Grid said it has met or
\nexceeded the New York Public Service Commission’s
\ntargets for frequency and duration of
\noutages. Last year, on average, a National Grid
\nupstate New York customer experienced less
\nthan one outage. The average outage duration
\nwas just under two hours.<\/p>\n
Electricity system investment has ranged
\nfrom work on transmission lines, the large
\ntower structures that move bulk power to
\nvarious communities, to smaller projects within
\nindividual communities. Since 2007, National
\nGrid has:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Refurbished and upgraded more than 20
\nelectricity substations in upstate New York.
\n\u2022 Replaced more than 116,000 utility poles
\nresulting in improved safety and infrastructure
\nstability near homes and businesses
\n\u2022 Installed more than 4,000 miles of new
\nelectric wire to improve service
\n\u2022 Installed more than 1,000 electronic
\n‘reclosures’ that function like large fuses with
\nmicroprocessor-based controls that automatically
\nisolate failed sections of the system to
\nreduce the number of customers affected by
\nan outage
\n\u2022 Mounted approximately 48,000 new transformers
\nthat facilitate delivery of electricity to
\nhomes and businesses
\n\u2022 Installed thousands of animal guards that
\nare used to discourage animals from making
\ncontact with electrical equipment, a significant
\ncause of outages<\/p>\n
“This work improves reliability, and helps
\nattract new upstate New York businesses that
\nare looking for strong infrastructure to help
\nensure their success,” Daly said. “These are
\ninvestments that will pay huge dividends for
\nyears to come.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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