On Sept. 20, customers and elected officials toured National Grid’s new Royal Avenue substation in Niagara Falls. The tour was conducted to illustrate the company's investments and equiment upgrades that are undertaken to provide safe, reliable electricity service to 15,000 customers in the area.

Investments in transmission and distribution infrastructure is common, and can help protect the grid against disruptions, including those caused by weather. And if a service disruptions does occur, newer equipment can help to restore electricity more quickly. 

The company has invested more than $80 million to modernize and upgrade nearly 100-year-old equipment across Niagara Falls. The investments include new underground line work and four new outdoor substations. All play important roles in the region, and the equipment modernization will help to ensure that electricity is available to customers when they need it.

The tour was conducted and coordinated by regional director Ken Kujawa, plus substation personnel Charles Audette, Michael Lindhurst, Sean Beckwith and Dan Lambert. Among those who took the tour included City of Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino, New York State Assemblyman Angelo Morinello (R,C,I -Niagara Falls), Niagara USA Chamber of Commerce President Kory Schuler and Niagara County Economic Development Director Michael Casale. Also in attendance was Bob Schweiger, Plant Manager at Goodyear Chemical’s Niagara Falls plant, which is being fed from the Royal Avenue station. 

Tours such as these are important opportunities to demonstrate to stakeholders and other partners about our investments and equipment upgrades that are undertaken as National Grid continues to deliver safe and reliable electricity to customers. 

At Royal Avenue a new $19.2 million transmission station, pictured above, was built that will eventually replace National Grid’s Harper facility. The new 115/13.2 kilovolt station will feed electricity to three other new distribution stations, which are in various stages of construction and should be completed by 2025:

* Stephenson Avenue distribution station: A $24 million investment that included construction of a recently-completed distribution substation.  Work on the relays and control house began in February. The new station will be in service later this year.

* Construction on the $18.2 million Welch Avenue distribution substation began this past summer, and is scheduled to be completed in 2024.

* The Eighth Street substation is an $18.7 million investment. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2024 and be completed the following year.

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