National Grid started up its new Eastover
substation off route 40 in Schaghticoke recently,
a move it says will strengthen the system and
allow for continued growth in the region, particularly
Saratoga County.
Officials said a decade ago the electric grid
in eastern upstate New York was critically close
to capacity. The region north of Albany was expanding
quickly and new businesses like Global
Foundries in Malta and others were beginning
to make Tech Valley a reality. Engineers at
National Grid were planning the solution that
involved new transmission lines, upgraded
equipment and new substations.
“Utilities are more than simply pipes and
wires, we are the base that a region can build
from,” said Ken Daly, National Grid president
for New York.
“A sea change like what is taking
place in the Capital Region of New York can not
happen without solid utility infrastructure. This
is a perfect example of what can happen when
a strong system exists to foster economic and
community growth.”
Across upstate New York National Grid committed
more than $3 billion in infrastructure
investment over a 10-year period through 2016,
the company said.
This investment will help the growth at the
Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta,
and encourage growth in the entire region,
officials said.
The new Eastover substation reinforces
the existing northeast electric system to support
new and future growth, according to the
company. It will help prevent overloading of
nearby stations and increase reliability to
customers across the region. In addition, more
than three miles of new electric line has been
built to facilitate the new station that has been
located outside residential areas to limit any
visual impact.
“A manufacturing plant the size and scale
of Global Foundries requires the right regional
infrastructure and the work that has been done
by National Grid has provided the foundation
for our existing plant as well as continued
growth and expansion,” said Mike Russo from
GlobalFoundries.
“The continued commitment National Grid
is making to encourage development through
their economic development programs and
significant infrastructure investments has
provided an environment for small and large
businesses to not only locate here but experience
growth as well,” said Michael Tucker, CEO
of the Center for Economic Growth.
The Eastover substation includes some of the
latest utility technology, said Daly. “This station
will improve our ability to detect outages and limit the number of customers out of power. At
the same time, this station adds resiliency to the
system, providing for back-up power sources in
the case of an interruption, and adds capacity
for future growth in the region.”
Daly added that modernizing the grid is a key
priority of National Grid’s Connect21 strategy
and aligns with New York’s Reforming the Energy
Vision (REV) initiative. Both initiatives
are designed to help increase use of alternative
energy resources and promote expanded
energy efficiency, renewable energy, distributed
generation, and energy storage programs.
“Extreme weather is on the rise and we have
committed to a long-term investment strategy
that will improve the reliability and resilience of
our system like we have done here in the northeast
region,” said Daly. “We see the benefits of
that investment in day-to-day events as well as
in how quickly we respond to storms.”
Since 2007, National Grid said it has met or
exceeded the New York Public Service Commission’s
targets for frequency and duration of
outages. Last year, on average, a National Grid
upstate New York customer experienced less
than one outage. The average outage duration
was just under two hours.
Electricity system investment has ranged
from work on transmission lines, the large
tower structures that move bulk power to
various communities, to smaller projects within
individual communities. Since 2007, National
Grid has:
• Refurbished and upgraded more than 20
electricity substations in upstate New York.
• Replaced more than 116,000 utility poles
resulting in improved safety and infrastructure
stability near homes and businesses
• Installed more than 4,000 miles of new
electric wire to improve service
• Installed more than 1,000 electronic
‘reclosures’ that function like large fuses with
microprocessor-based controls that automatically
isolate failed sections of the system to
reduce the number of customers affected by
an outage
• Mounted approximately 48,000 new transformers
that facilitate delivery of electricity to
homes and businesses
• Installed thousands of animal guards that
are used to discourage animals from making
contact with electrical equipment, a significant
cause of outages
“This work improves reliability, and helps
attract new upstate New York businesses that
are looking for strong infrastructure to help
ensure their success,” Daly said. “These are
investments that will pay huge dividends for
years to come.”