National Grid to Retire Syracuse Substation That Predates World War II

Brief Service Outages Necessary to Facilitate Transfer

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – National Grid this week will begin to retire its East Brighton Ave. substation here as part of the company’s investment of more than $1.6 billion in networks and systems to improve reliability, safety, and power quality for its upstate New York customers.

The 4,500 customers currently served by the Brighton station will have their electricity service transitioned to other nearby substations. To do this safely, National Grid crews will initiate a series of brief service interruptions beginning March 16 through March 26. A total of 15 outages, each expected to last about 90 minutes, are scheduled. Customers that will lose power have been contacted in advance by National Grid.

National Grid is also alerting the public that a few area traffic lights will be affected during outage times. The company is working with Syracuse City officials and the New York State Department of Transportation to manage public safety.

“Customers can expect improved reliability and reduced outage times as a result of our retiring the Brighton station,” said Melanie Littlejohn, National Grid executive director of upstate New York. “National Grid is working closely with local officials to ensure minimal disruption to our customers and the public.”

The Brighton station will remain in National Grid’s network, but no longer directly serve customers. The station was put into service in 1929, 50 years after the invention of electric light.

Transformers inside a substation reduce the voltage of electricity that is delivered through transmission lines, and redistributes it through the company’s distribution network so it can be safely used in homes, schools and businesses.