There are three reasons for building a second substation:
- Redundancy, allowing scheduled maintenance functions that don't cause power outages. There are many other benefits of redundancy, including the capability to reroute power in case of an equipment malfunction or other emergency.
- Longevity: The existing substation is reaching the end of its expected life cycle, causing maintenance issues and concern that it could have a massive failure soon.
- Increased capacity. The current substation is more than two decades old, and not only is it reaching the end of it's life expectancy, it's functioning at the high end of its capacity. A second substation will allow the reduction of the amount of power flowing through the original substation, potentially extending its usefulness.
City Council authorized this substation project on February 21, 2023, for a project cost of approximately 4.1 million.
