Eversource: 2016 Work Has Made Electrical System Less Vulnerable to Weather

BERLIN, CT — All that work Eversource Energy has been doing around the state has tallied up to about $930 million, while making the state's electrical system more weatherproof, utility officials said on Tuesday.

The money was an "investment" to allow crews to restore power more quickly when outages occur and to maintain and upgrade the company’s electric system, officials said.

“The strategic investments we’re making in the electric grid throughout Connecticut are allowing us to deliver more reliable power to our customers,” said Craig Hallstrom, president of regional electric operations at Eversource. “We all remember the historic storms of the last several years. Building a better, stronger, smarter grid will improve reliability for our customers no matter the weather.”

The work has made Eversource’s "significantly" less vulnerable to weather-related outages, officials said.

The work included upgrading equipment, performing year-round maintenance and inspections, trimming trees and adding "additional high-tech automation to allow the company to restore power more quickly," company officials said.

In 2016, the company installed 24 miles of thicker electric wire, approximately 2,700 new utility poles and trimmed troublesome trees along more than 4,000 miles of power lines in Connecticut, officials said.

Additionally, the company added more than 60 “smart switches” to the system, officials said.

The "state-of-the-art" automated switches ensure there is more than one way the electricity can reach customers, which reduces the duration of outages and the number of customers affected, officials said. Smart switches require no human action, which allows the company’s operation center to restore an outage almost instantly, officials said.

“The results are clear,” Hallstrom said. “Well-planned, well-executed projects help us deliver our promise of reliable energy to our customers. People don’t necessarily notice when they don’t lose power, but that’s what this work is all about.”

The "investments" will continue in 2017 with additional system upgrades, including tree trimming and grid strengthening projects, officials said.

Photo Credit: Eversource