Part of $4.5M in infrastructure improvements in ESL area in 2015
Ameren Illinois is investing $4.5 million in East St. Louis-area infrastructure and the improvements will be placed into service by the end of 2015, the company announced in early July. This includes a new substation at the intersection of Cleveland and 27th Street named to honor East St. Louis choreographer, dancer and human rights activist Katherine Dunham.
Projects in progress for 2015 include:
Ridge substation (located near the intersection of Ridge Avenue and 20th Street). Ameren Illinois is installing a 112 mega-volt (MVA) transformer inside the Ridge substation. The new transformer replaces an older 100-MVA unit. Investment: $2.5 million.
Edgemont substation (located near the intersection of State Street and Pershing Boulevard). The company is replacing two 4-MVA transformers with one 14-MVA transformer adding capacity to meet future demand in the area. The substation design also provides room for an additional 14-MVA unit to accommodate future growth in the City. Two 34-kV sub-transmission lines will serve the substation; one line will serve as a backup to improve service reliability for customers. Investment: $2 million.
New Dunham substation. Ameren Illinois will relocate its 6.25-MVA Alta substation at the intersection of Missouri Avenue and 29th Street to its new location at the intersection of Cleveland and 27th Street. The new substation will be renamed to honor Katherine Dunham. The new substation will be 14-MVA – doubling the capacity of the old substation.
The substation design also provides room for an additional 14-MVA unit to accommodate future growth in the city. Two 34-kV sub-transmission lines will serve the substation; one line will serve as a backup to improve service reliability for customers. There will be four 4-kV feeders exiting the substation, which will extend south along the west side of 27th Street and the east side of 29th Street. The feeders will extend west on Broadway Avenue and in the alley north of Missouri Avenue and tie into existing feeders to improve reliability.
Project should be in-service by the end of 2016. Investment: $3.4 million.
Ameren Illinois field crews and contractors will log more than 4,000 work hours on these projects.
“Since the grid modernization program began in 2012, projects such as the installation of storm-resistant utility poles, outage detection technology, and stronger power lines have resulted in 238,000 fewer electricity service interruptions on average,” said Richard J. Mark, president of Ameren Illinois.
“Fewer outages will mean more savings for customers in East St. Louis.”
The company also announced plans to spend an additional $3.4 million in upgrades in East St. Louis, beginning in 2016.
