Chelan PUD’s North Shore substation is now serving customers, “providing more flexibility and reliability for years to come in the growing communities of Chelan and Manson,” the PUD said on Sept. 3.
The North Shore substation site was selected in 2017 with community input. Substation design began in 2020 and construction broke ground in 2023. The substation project budget was about $10.5 million.
The PUD planted native landscaping around the substation to help it blend in with the environment, and worked with the neighboring properties to reduce light pollution.
“We want to be good neighbors,” said Chad Rissman, Chelan PUD distribution asset manager. “We work with the surrounding community to develop basic design principals so that the substation reflects their input.”
The North Shore Substation is a milestone in the utility’s plan to add 15 more substations county-wide over the next decade.
“Substations work together as a network,” Rissman said. “When you build a new substation, it helps rebalance the electrical load on nearby substations for optimum reliability.”
Chelan PUD has 33 distribution substations strategically located throughout its service territory.
Chelan PUD uses growth forecasting, planning standards, and long-range planning to predict how much and where electrical load growth will occur so the utility can build the necessary infrastructure, including substations, it said.
Based on current forecasts, more substations are in the works to meet growing electrical demand around Manson, Wenatchee and Leavenworth. Visit chelanpud.org/substations for more information.
