Eversource, NH's largest electric utility, is investing about $600,000 this summer to strengthen a transmission line that runs from the Webster Substation in Franklin to the North Road Substation in Sunapee. The project, intended to guard against power outages due to storms, includes installing more than 200 braces on existing structures along 25 miles of overhead electric lines. It is expected to be complete in September.
"In the last decade, we have had numerous storms that have proven too strong for the design of existing equipment," says Joe Purington, Eversource vice president of electrical operations. "We have determined which parts of the system are in need of structural enhancements and are working to complete those improvements throughout the state. The improvements between Franklin and Sunapee will make our system more resistant to severe weather, ice and wind, reducing the risk of an electrical outage."
The project is part of a larger effort to enhance system reliability during severe storm events. Eversource also recently upgraded structures along the company's transmission lines in Southern NH. Eversource serves more than 500,000 homes and businesses in 211 cities and towns.
Work in Franklin started earlier in July and construction is scheduled to move along the transmission line through Andover, Wilmot, New London, Springfield and ending in Sunapee. Additional work to enhance the reliability of the electric system in the Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region is expected to be completed in the fall, including the replacement of existing structures in Claremont with stronger steel.
Current Issue - May 2024