01 Oct
Installation of a new substation transformer to serve the Floyd Hill area, initially scheduled to be in service by the end of 2017, has been delayed until the first quarter of 2018.
The project requires that a substation be expanded. Though work on the substation started as planned, problems encountered during construction have delayed completion. The distribution feeders from the substation are substantially complete, but cannot be used until the transformer is installed and energized.
The new transformer will replace IREA’s existing Floyd Hill substation. While the Floyd Hill substation is interconnected to a 25-kilovolt, distribution-level system, the new transformer will be fed by a 115-kilovolt, transmission-level system with better reliability.
The existing Floyd Hill substation is not optimal because of the voltage at which it operates and because its location – adjacent to I-70 and on the downhill side of the interstate – has allowed magnesium chloride deicer and grime to contaminate and affect equipment. The new substation’s location, however, will prevent such contamination.
In addition to the new transformer, IREA has made significant upgrades to the area’s distribution system, including a new primary loop and the rebuilding of some existing overhead lines with historically lower reliability.
Once the new transformer is energized, IREA will retire the Floyd Hill substation.
Look to www.IREA.coop for future updates on this project.