High Voltage Line Replacement Begins on Alma

The 60-kilovolt power lines that hang along Alma between Park Blvd and Encina Avenue will today begin being replaced, causing traffic and other impacts, the City Utility announced.

As part of the upgrade, the lines, which are the uppermost wires on the electric poles, will be swapped out with larger-sized wire. Some of the poles will also have to be replaced to accommodate the larger wires.

The project is a council-approved, budgeted capital improvement project, and is being supervised by the Utilities Electric Engineering division and performed by PAR Electric.

Work will begin Tuesday and continue through August 18. The upgrade is needed in order to carry more current, which will improve service to customers, said Utilities Communications Manager Debra Katz.

“This is a very good thing!” she said in an email.

The impacts of the project will generally be contained to a few blocks at any given time. Northbound traffic along Alma will be closed to one lane, including during commute hours.

“We are trying to minimize the impact to commuters as much as possible but the crews need enough time to make specific amounts of progress each day and do so safely,” said Katz.

There will also be planned electricity shutoffs as a result of the upgrade, taking place one two occasions, and not to the same customers. The shutoff will occur in mid-July for 10 hours, but most customers won’t actually lose power because the utility is going to “backfeed” a supply.

The few residents who will lose power will be individually notified well in advance, said Katz.

The Utility has placed signage up along Alma, and further information is available on the Utility website.