NYPA to spend $34 million on substation upgrades

2019-8-31

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) Board of Trustees has approved $34.3 million for upgrades at its Plattsburgh, Willis and Saranac substations in Clinton County.

The investment is part of a comprehensive, multi-year Transmission Life Extension and Modernization (T-LEM) program to upgrade NYPA’s transmission system to maintain availability and increase reliability. 

The T-LEM program, which began in 2012 and is set to run through 2025, encompasses transmission assets along transmission lines, switchyards and substations in the Central, Northern and Western regions of New York State. The upgrades, estimated to cost US$726 million, are divided into several smaller projects for efficient resource planning and effective implementation.

Transmission improvements in the Northern New York region encompass equipment upgrades at the Plattsburgh, Willis and Saranac remote substations, which support the operation of the transmission systems around NYPA’s St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project in Massena.

The funding authorization will enable NYPA to build on completed upgrades and synergizes with planned ones at the Willis substation, in addition to further improvements at the Plattsburgh substation. Seven 230-kV and four 115-kV circuit breakers will be replaced, in addition to motor-operated disconnect switches and instrument transformers at the Willis substation.

The planned improvements also include relay and station service equipment upgrades at both the Willis and Plattsburgh substations, as well as the procurement of four 115-kV circuit breakers for the Saranac substation. The planned upgrades are expected to begin in September and continue through December 2025.

 T&D World