Service Map
CURRENT PROJECTS
MODERNIZATION OF BELMONT’S ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION INFRASTRUCTURE UNDERWAY
The transformation of Belmont’s electric delivery system from an unreliable, decaying, even dangerous system to a state-of-the-art system that will serve the town for years to come has been plotted out over three steps.
The first step was to the construction of a new 60 MW substation at Blair Pond and a new 115 kV transmission line from Alewife. Completed in December 2016, this project allowed Belmont Light to avoid an impending crisis by significantly increasing the electricity capacity and power quality for the Town of Belmont.
The second step was to cut over the incoming power supply from a system with numerous lines to the new system fed over the 115 kV transmission line into the new Blair Pond Substation. In order to accomplish this cut over, Belmont Light conducted a series of planned power outages for all customers over 4 separate nights. The resulting system left the Blair Pond Substation still feeding the 3 existing substations (Concord Ave., Oakley Rd., Hittinger St.) and the distribution cables powering homes, business, and other buildings remained old and decaying.
The third and final step to creating the next generation’s most cost effective and efficient distribution system for Belmont consumers is the completion of a 10-year plan, which has been termed “Project C”, to upgrade and modernize the town-wide distribution system and decommission the town’s three older substations which will be rendered obsolete.
The upgrade and modernization of Belmont’s current distribution infrastructure to higher 13.8 kV circuits includes replacing wire, transformers, utility poles, and other equipment as needed. Completion of Phase One of this project will allow the town to decommission the substation at 450 Concord Avenue and the completion of Phase Two will result in the decommissioning of the substations at Oakley Road and Hittinger Street.
Status: Ongoing
UPDATE – January 2025
In calendar year 2024 we converted approximately 1.622 megawatts (MW) of electrical load in the town. Areas converted included Hill Rd, Greybirch Cir, Country Club Ln, Oakmont Ln, Stoney Brook Rd, Somerset St, Wellington Rd, Common St, Hull St, Maple St, White St, Pleasant St, King St, Banks St, and Trapelo Rd.
Overall, we installed or replaced roughly 5,309 circuit feet of underground cable, approximately 22,863 circuit feet of overhead spacer cable, and 25,000 linear feet of service cable system wide. A significant number of transformers were worked on (78 installed and 47 removed) along with switches/protective devices that were also installed or replaced to aid with our ongoing initiatives, such as this project, and to support customer-driven projects.
In total, we replaced 122 wooden poles and 28 aluminum street light poles throughout parts of the town, with the majority being related to the voltage conversion project, while others were related to the Pole Inspection Program, customer service upgrades, and general system maintenance.