Unitil officials offered customers a glimpse into plans for expanding electric capacity in Lunenburg, Massachusetts as part of a pair of public information sessions held last week.
The company’s presentations, one virtual and one at Lunenburg Public Library, outlined plans to expand the capacity of its Massachusetts Avenue substation, which serves as a distribution hub that feeds the power lines to homes, as well as the construction of an all-new substation in southeast Lunenburg.
Jake Dusling, Unitil Electric Engineering Director, said in his presentation that the $9.1 million upgrade of the Massachusetts Avenue substation, expected to be completed sometime in 2026, will meet the increased electric capacity demand expected within the community. It will also improve overall reliability in town by adding new circuits with the potential to isolate outages to smaller portions of the grid while providing for quicker power restorations and increased capability to interconnect renewable generation.
A new proposed $21 million substation, in a yet-to-be-determined location in the southeast portion of the town, would connect into existing transmission lines, creating a new access point for electricity to enter Unitil’s system. The substation would have the ability to power a large portion of the community even if there’s an outage affecting the existing Massachusetts Avenue substation.
Dusling said the substation will also provide sufficient electric capacity to support the commercial and industrial development in south Lunenburg and the long-term electrification goals of the Commonwealth in this area of the Unitil system.
“The construction schedule is tentative as we actively explore the limited land opportunities that would allow for the construction of such a facility,” said Dusling.
Both of these projects not only support economic development in town, but also align with the company’s Electric Sector Modernization Plan (ESMP). The Commonwealth asked public utility providers to develop a plan that outlines proactive distribution system upgrades to meet future power needs and Commonwealth climate goals. More information on both the ESMP and the Lunenburg Substation projects can be found at Unitil.com.
“These type of public meetings provide customers and stakeholders the opportunity to learn more about these projects and share their feedback,” said O’Meara. “We’d like to thank all who took the time to learn a little more about the system that serves the community, and we look forward to finding new opportunities to share information about similar community projects in the Commonwealth.”
