After nearly two years of engineering and design the Commercial Street Substation project is well under way. This project will completely replace the existing substation equipment including transformers, switchgear, and underground cables.

The Commercial Street facility, which was originally constructed in 1895, has seen several upgrades over its history, but this is the first significant upgrade to the substation equipment since 1960. When completed, this upgrade plan will significantly increase reliability to our customers, reduce noise, while incorporating an aesthetic design not typically found in traditional substation projects.

As a municipal electric light department we are very sensitive to the needs of our customer owners. Given the close proximity of this facility within a residential neighborhood, and the limited space for the equipment to operate, we created a design that would conceal the new equipment from sight as well as satisfy some engineering challenges. A similar approach was incorporated in the design of the Clifton Substation replacement project which proved to be very successful.