EWEB
Electric Currin Substation Commissioner Tour 04172023 5797 (1)
Electric Currin Substation Commissioner Tour 04172023 5797 (1)
Electric Currin Substation Commissioner Tour 04172023 5797 (1)
Electric Currin Substation Commissioner Tour 04172023 5797 (1)
Electric Currin Substation Commissioner Tour 04172023 5797 (1)

Eugene Water & Electric Board Set to Rebuild 10 Substations Within Next 10 Years

June 5, 2023
The initiative aims to replace aging infrastructure and enhance reliability for the future.

The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) is preparing to reconstruct 10 substations within the next ten years as part of a new Capital Improvement Plan. This initiative aims to modernize and revitalize the utility's electric grid by bringing the infrastructure up to current standards.

The rebuilding process has commenced with the Currin Substation, which is situated near Garden Way and Interstate 105. Presently, crews are demolishing the 60-year-old substation. In the coming weeks, workers will eliminate the remaining underground infrastructure, including concrete and rebar from the old foundations at the site.

Once the demolition is complete, workers will construct new foundations for the substation and install new infrastructure below ground level. Subsequently, crews will install new electrical equipment, most likely during the mid to late summer.

The Currin Substation serves as a vital junction for EWEB’s electrical grid, facilitating the flow of power from multiple long-distance transmission lines, including those from the Bonneville Power Administration and PacifiCorp. Additionally, it acts as a connection hub for EWEB's Hayden Bridge Water Treatment Plant, customers in the McKenzie River Valley, and the downtown electrical network in Eugene. Due to these critical interconnections, Currin was chosen as the first substation to be replaced among the planned ten rebuilds.

Most of EWEB’s substations were constructed during the 1970s when Eugene’s population was rapidly growing.

Despite some of EWEB’s old equipment, the power supplied by the utility is highly reliable, with an outage occurrence and duration rate of 99.97% based on 2022 metrics. Maintaining such a level of electric reliability necessitates consistent investment and maintenance in the entire grid, encompassing power plants, distribution and transmission lines, substations serving thousands of homes, and transformers serving several houses or even entire apartment buildings, depending on size.

The rebuilt Currin Substation will enhance future reliability by reducing the frequency of outages caused by equipment failure or routine maintenance. Its new design adheres to modern earthquake standards to better withstand the potential Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake. The foundations will be larger and deeper to prevent equipment mounted on them from overturning or sliding during seismic activity.

The projected cost of the Currin Substation project is $14.8 million, with an estimated completion date in spring 2024. Over the next decade, nine additional substations will be rebuilt, as outlined in EWEB’s ten-year Capital Improvement Plan aimed at rehabilitating and replacing aging infrastructure. EWEB anticipates that the reconstruction of these ten substations will cost approximately $125 million.

The Capital Improvement Plan is driven by asset management, data, and risk-based decisions, categorizing projects into three main groups: risk-based, compulsory, and strategic. These categories will guide the electric division’s work over the next ten years.

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