The Kissimmee Utility Authority broke ground on a new $17.2 million electric substation that will power downtown Kissimmee, Fla and its business district. The substation will replace the utility’s existing Power Plant Substation, a facility constructed on Kissimmee’s lakefront in the early 1970s.
The new substation, a Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) gas insulated design, will be built adjacent to the existing substation. Unlike the open-air design of the current substation, much of the new facility and supporting equipment will be housed inside a building to minimize the visual impact. In addition, existing transmission lines and distribution feeders will enter the substation underground improving overall aesthetics while reducing some of the exposure to outages from animal life. The substation, which will be constructed adjacent to the Kissimmee Amtrak SunRail station, will be the first of its kind in Osceola County, the second in Central Florida and the fourth in Florida. The substation is named in honor of Roy E. Hansel, a third-generation resident of Kissimmee who ran the utility from 1943 until 1972.
Founded in 1901, KUA is Florida's sixth largest community-owned utility powering 64,000 customers in Osceola County, Florida.
