Licking Rural Electrification, Inc., (dba) The Energy Cooperative plans to construct a new high-voltage, 138-kV to 12-kV distribution substation in Jersey Township in western Licking County, Ohio. The substation will be called Smith’s Mill Substation.
The Energy Cooperative hosted an informational ground-breaking ceremony on August 27 to discuss this new distribution station. The ceremony was held at the future site of the substation near the intersection of Beech Road and Jug Street, NW in New Albany, Ohio.
The Energy Cooperative will build the new station on cooperative-owned property adjacent to American Electric Power’s (AEP) Jug Street Station. The Energy Cooperative’s Smith’s Mill Substation will be fed from a 138-kV line out of AEP’s Jug Station, which is a 345/138-kV transmission station. Essentially, this provides a highly reliable source of transmission for the Smith’s Mill Substation.
Smith’s Mill Substation will initially have one 20-MVA transformer with roughly 12 MVA available for use by new growth. The substation will be designed for a second 20 MVA transformer should the load dictate needing a second transformer. The station will provide feeder exit positions to feed new load in the area while also providing redundancy from the same station when needed.
In addition to improving The Energy Cooperative’s distribution system and enhancing reliability, the new substation will provide capacity for economic growth in the area. The station project is an approximate $5.0 M investment The Energy Cooperative is making in the area. Construction is targeted to begin fourth quarter 2014 and be complete in third quarter 2015.
The Energy Cooperative, based in Newark, Ohio, is a not-for-profit energy enterprise and serves more than 60,000 electric, natural gas and propane members. The Energy Cooperative is a Touchstone Energy® Partner. For more information about The Energy Cooperative, visit www.theenergycoop.com.
