In an effort to address electricity demands and reliability concerns, Alectra Utilities is working on the reinforcement of its Vaughan power grid. In the past year, the company poured in $12 million for this. Mind you, this is far from the end as it has set aside yet another $10 million to replace and rejuvenate the underground cables in the area. Overall, the company will spend $22 million to improve the reliability of its services using a process called cable rejuvenation.
Various parts of the distribution system have already reached their end-of-life cycles or will do so in the near future. The rejuvenation and replacement of underground cables should improve the supply of electricity for its customers. The planned infrastructure upgrades are set to stabilize the current system and enhance the overall reliability of its services.
The projects are set to improve the service for both commercial and residential customers in 14 different areas in the city. It is helpful to know that this covers the majority of its clients as Alectra services a total of 17 areas. These parts of Vaughan will get to enjoy better reliability after the completion of these projects:
The process of cable injection will prevent significant costs and reduce service disruptions. At the same time, it will be more eco-friendly due to minimal environmental impacts. What does it entail? Instead of digging up and replacing underground cables, weak spots will be filled in with a silicone-based injection to get rid of any moisture and harden the cables to curb future deterioration.
To expound on how much better this is for the environment, the utility company will avoid a lot of greenhouse gas emissions by using this process. To be specific, it will not release 13 tonnes of it per kilometer. At the time of writing, Alectra has managed to inject over 820 kilometers of underground cable in the areas that it services. This translates to avoiding more than 10,000 tonnes of emissions!
Alectra Utilities have time and time again proven its commitment to improving the electricity grid in the 17 communities that it serves. This project will undoubtedly support growth and allow the company to keep providing reliable and safe service to its customers.