Protecting against storm damage, increasing power output

PSEG-Long Island overhauling Cedarhurst substation on Pearsall Avenue

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To protect against storm damage and increase its power output equivalent to the four other electric substations in the village, the PSEG-Long Island substation on Pearsall Avenue between Rockaway Turnpike and Avery Place in Cedarhurst will be undergoing a major upgrade that began at the end of September and is expected to be completed by June, company officials said.

During this time, PSEG-Long Island does not anticipate any power outages related to this project. “The substation is going to be upgraded and placed on the 69 kilovolts transmission system, which is more robust and storm hardened,” spokeswoman Elizabeth Flagler, wrote in an email. “Also, the circuits feeding the customers will be converted to 13 kilovolts from 4 kilovolts, thereby providing increased reliability.”

Flagler added that the Pearsall Avenue substation currently serves approximately 500 customers. The work involved in the upgrade will require a service disruption, she said, and customers will know about it ahead of time.

Utility poles will be replaced or installed along the Long Island Railroad right-of-way to support the improvements and distribution circuits will be installed underground beneath certain streets including Pearsall, Summit, Cedarhurst, Park and Linwood avenues, Chestnut Street and Rockaway Turnpike to bolster the neighborhood’s electricity needs.

With regard to traffic surrounding the construction, Flagler said there would be minor interruptions. PSEG will have cones, flagmen and signage as needed to guide traffic safely.

“PSEG’s upgrade of the electrical substation on Pearsall is a critically important component of the plan to storm-harden Cedarhurst’s power grid,” Cedarhurst Mayor Benjamin Weinstock said.

In addition to the substation upgrades, PSEG will harden Cedarhurst’s electrical distribution system to better handle extreme weather conditions. This project, funded through the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program, is expected to take approximately four months to complete.

PSEG plans to replace existing electric wire with more resistant wire, install new poles with a stronger base and install and/or replace switches in order to reduce the impact and frequency of power outages.

This work will take place on Peninsula Boulevard between Oakland Avenue and Arlington Road; West Broadway between Albermarle Road and Oceanpoint Avenue; Cedarhurst Avenue between West Broadway and 5th; 5th between Cedarhurst Avenue and Washington Avenue; and Washington Avenue between 5th and Pearsall Avenue.

“The village’s electrical needs are supplied by five substations, four of which operate at 13,000 volts, and the Pearsall substation that operates at 4,000 volts,” Weinstock said. “This means that the Pearsall substation is incompatible with the rest of the grid. If we are affected by a power outage, the Pearsall substation cannot supply other parts of the Village, and the other four substations can’t cover the customers served by Pearsall. Upgrading Pearsall to operate at the uniform level of 13,000 volts will eliminate the problem.”