PEC crews from every district help complete Cranes Mill substation conversion
Upgrades increase the area's voltage capacity to meet growing demands
It takes teamwork to meet the increasing demands of our growing cooperative, and our crews in Canyon Lake were reminded of that during the months of March and May. Crews from every PEC district stepped in to help Canyon Lake upgrade the Cranes Mill substation and bring our members in that area from 7,200 voltage capacity to 14,400 volts.
This conversion required 50 two-man teams from Oak Hill, Junction, Marble Falls, Liberty Hill, Bertram, Kyle, and Canyon Lake. We also received much-appreciated support from employees in our technical services, substation, and fleet teams, as well as from the full-service engineering firm, M&S Engineering.
“It’s a big effort on everybody’s part to get these things done safely and efficiently,” said Canyon Lake Regional Operations Manager Andy Ridge. “I’m proud to watch it all come together.”
During the eight-day venture in March and May, crews replaced standard transformers with dual-voltage equipment to ensure our system could keep up with the increased capacity. The conversion affected all five feeders at the substation and a total of 7,509 members.
“It’s not about the age of the equipment, but rather ensuring the right equipment is in place to up the voltage,” Ridge said.
Ridge and his crews were excited to report that the conversion went well with no injuries.
“A lot of pre-conversion work went into this, and it’s all gone really well,” he said.
While this project is complete, the work to continue ensuring reliability won’t stop here. Ridge said three more substation conversions are planned in the service area in the near future.