ENWIN and E.L.K. Energy hope power outages are reduced after they successfully commissioned a second hydro feed to Lakeshore.
Before now, the municipality was powered by a single feeder from the Belle River Transformer Station, but the second feeder is expected to increase capacity and redundancy. Each line will now supply half of the community's load.
Either line can supply power to the entire municipality served by E.L.K. Energy, but in the event of a power outage, service can be quickly restored by switching to the unaffected feeder.
Upgrades to move to smart switching technology, which will flip feeders automatically, will start next year.
On-site crews manually operate those switches now, but the automated system is faster.
"This technology communicates to control rooms to speed up power restoration in the event of a supply loss, significantly reducing outage times," said a release from ENWIN. "This investment is part of a broader plan to build a more storm-resistant, resilient grid.
"This investment demonstrates ENWIN and E.L.K. Energy's commitment to improving service reliability and supporting the growing needs of our communities," said Hydro One's Chief Operating Officer Jim Brown. "These enhancements will be implemented over time as part of a long-term plan to strengthen infrastructure and deliver lasting improvements for customers."
