Construction is underway on a new substation project that will help bring even more reliable power to NES customers. The project will serve roughly a third of the downtown core business district and accompany the long-term growth of the downtown area. NES chose to pursue the project to prioritize capacity, asset management and reliability for customers. Some of the capacity of this substation could potentially be used to feed the new East Bank development.
The new substation, located at the intersection of Gay Street and 2nd Avenue North, will replace the old structure built in 1914 as a privately owned coal-fired steam generation plant that fed the local area until the 1940s. The plant was then converted from a generation plant to be fed from TVA’s transmission system. The blueprint for this project is similar to the 11th Avenue substation NES recently completed in the Gulch.
Progress is being made on the development, with infrastructure that will span across the Cumberland River. The new substation will include updated equipment that will replace old equipment, as well as replacing a good portion of underground lead cable. The existing central substation will remain active during construction, but the new substation’s features will help minimize future maintenance issues and circuit outages.
NES remains focused on modernizing to best serve our customers and improve operations. Our mission is to provide our customers with safe, resilient and reliable energy. Originally announced in October 2021, the new substation is expected to be complete by summer of 2025.
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