Manager’s Message – April/May 2016

Underwood substation construction is now complete! The work began in July 2015 and finished in March 2016. In 2008 the PUD purchased our five substations from the Bonneville Power Administration. At the time of purchase the PUD recognized there were both immediate and long term infrastructure upgrade and replacement needs in all five substations. Within a few years after the purchase, the PUD made some minor upgrades and began planning the first major project to rebuild Underwood substation.

Underwood, Mill A and Willard area customers are now being served with all new substation equipment. The most significant benefits of this project are:

• The substation is running on a new transformer (the backbone of the substation).
• The old transformer has been repurposed to be a ready-in-place spare.
• Voltage regulators were installed to provide consistent service voltage to our customers.
• Catch basins were built to contain an oil spill in the event of an unexpected leak in one of the oil-filled power transformers.
• Flexibility was built into the distribution circuits to minimize the need for outages for maintenance or repairs.

The completion of this project marks a significant upgrade in quality and reliability of service for the Underwood, Mill A and Willard areas.

Brent Bischoff General Manager