Work has begun on a new NV Energy electrical substation that serves as a key hub for much of the power supplied to the Lahontan Valley. The $6.1 million project is expected to be completed in March 2015, according to Russell Groesbeck, area service manager for NV Energy’s Fallon office.

The Lahontan Substation is being constructed adjacent to an existing substation about a half mile northeast of Lahontan Dam. Once the new facility is completed, the existing facility, built in the 1950s, will be retired from service and dismantled.  

New equipment installed in the substation, a facility that regulates the flow of power into and out of the Lahontan Valley, will improve the reliability of the electric service that NV Energy provides to approximately 8,800 customers in Churchill County.

Two 60,000-volt electric transmission lines deliver power to the substation. From there, the electricity is routed to four smaller substations located in the Fallon area.

Besides serving NV Energy’s customers, the substation delivers bulk supplies of electricity to the electric distribution systems operated by the City of Fallon and the Fallon Naval Air Station.

Power from Lahontan Dam enters the electric system at the Lahontan Substation, along with electricity produced by geothermal power plants located in Stillwater, at Soda Lake and Salt Wells.

The construction project received final approval from U.S. Bureau of Reclamation earlier this month.

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