WAVERLY, Iowa (December 21, 2011) – Waverly Light & Power will begin work in early 2012 on a new electric substation on the northwest corner of First Avenue and 12th Street Northwest.
The Waverly City Council recently approved a special provisional use application for the property, which is just north of Bremer Avenue and adjacent to the Wartburg College maintenance building. The utility purchased the site in October.
“The public will see changes on the property soon, starting with removal of the garage and demolition of the house” said Diane Johnson, general manager of Waverly Light & Power.
The utility anticipates completing the new facility in the 2015 timeframe, after which its oldest substation, located at 1501 Wilson Ave., will be razed.
“We are planning ahead to ensure that we can continue to provide reliable service to our customers,” Johnson said. “We will need to replace the old transformer in the next few years, and the Wilson Avenue site cannot accommodate the larger transformer required for Waverly’s increasing power demands.”
Johnson said the new location has already allowed Waverly Light and Power to save $120,000 on a planned transmission line replacement, which would have been more costly at the Wilson Avenue site.Plans for the new substation include planting trees along the north and east property lines to screen and buffer adjacent properties.
Mike Whitney, distribution planner at Waverly Light & Power, said the utility currently operates three substations. “The substations receive high-voltage electric power and step it down to transformer boxes placed throughout town,” Whitney explained. “The transformer boxes then step down the voltage again for use by homes and businesses.”
About Waverly Light and Power
Established in 1904, Waverly Light and Power is a municipally owned electric utility that now serves more than 4,600 customers in and around Waverly. In 1993, Waverly Light and Power became the first public power system in the Midwest to own and operate wind generation, positioning the utility as a national leader in renewable energy. Managed by a trusteeship, Waverly Light and Power is committed to energy efficiency, and is the recipient of numerous state and national awards, including the Reliable Public Power Award, the Iowa Energy Leadership Award, and multiple Energy Innovator Awards.
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