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Maritime Electric says Islanders in western P.E.I. are in for more reliable power.
The utility’s new switching station in Woodstock has been online since March and is now fully operational.
“The main reason we put that there is to improve reliability,” said Enrique Riveroll, the vice-president of sustainability and customer operations with Maritime Electric.
“There’s a lot of customers up there that now have better reliability than they had in the past.”
Maritime Electric said there were hundreds of power outages over the winter in West Prince alone, but it expects that number to drop by about 55 per cent with the commissioning of the new switching station.
The utility said the infrastructure cost around $13.8 million.
Customers have already seen a small bump in their monthly bills to help cover that cost. It’s part of an existing increase of about 0.54 per cent that was approved as part of the utility’s 2024 operating budget.
Riveroll says Maritime Electric is adding about two new substations across P.E.I. every year to keep up with the growing demand on the Island’s power supply, so the new Woodstock station is just one more important step. (Ken Linton/CBC)
Until now, Riveroll said, all substations in the western part of the Island were fed by just one transmission line — so if there was a problem, multiple areas would be without power.
The new station includes a second transmission line that’s interconnected with the first, and can act as a backup to minimize the number of communities affected by an outage.
“With a second transmission line and Woodstock substation established, we have a looped transmission system. So if there’s a problem on one line, then all the power will be rerouted through the second,” Riveroll said.
“We’re always looking to improve the reliability of our system, so if you can create … a backup for when there’s a problem, then your reliability is going to be really good.”
The Woodstock station is also equipped with a 50-megawatt transformer, adding on to the 100-megawatt station in Sherbrooke, just north of Summerside.
The Woodstock project was first introduced in 2021, but Riveroll said constraints with the supply chain as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed back the start date for construction until 2023.
Maritime Electric currently has 33 substations across the Island. Riveroll said the goal is to continue to increase that number, starting with another substation in Tignish.
He said the utility is adding about two new substations across P.E.I. every year to keep up with the growing demand on the Island’s power supply, so the new Woodstock station is just one more important step.
“I’d like our customers to know that when it comes to reliability, besides safety, it’s our … priority,” Riveroll said.
“We spend a lot of time planning … so that when the customers need electricity, they can get it.”
