NYSEG Completes Reliability Upgrades in Gainesville

Resiliency investments to bring enhanced reliability to approximately 400 customers 

HORNELL, NY — August 26, 2021 — New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) announced today that it has completed a circuit upgrade project that will benefit more than 400 customers in the village of Gainesville. The project upgraded sections of the Gainesville 594 circuit, which delivers power to customers’ homes and businesses, to increase its reliability and resiliency. 

“Our primary duty as a utility is to provide our customers with safe and reliable service year-round,” said Michelle McDonald, Michelle McDonald, Manager of Resiliency Field Projects at NYSEG. “This is an important responsibility and requires continued investments in our systems, like those being made here in Gainesville. With these upgrades, our customers will be able to count on more reliable service.” 

The primary goal of the project was to make the grid more reliable by increasing the capability of the circuit by converting the existing 4.8 kilovolt (kV) voltage to 34.5kV voltage and creating a connection with RG&E’s 7704 circuit, its sister company, which was also recently upgraded. This connection adds a secondary power supply source, resulting in enhanced reliability by allowing customers to receive their electricity through another path if the primary circuit requires repairs. The project also upgraded equipment on the circuit, including adding new voltage regulators and transformers. Additionally, the company installed a SCADA switch, which gives NYSEG the ability to remotely switch which circuit is powering a customers’ home or business to help provide quicker restoration times.

This project is part of the company’s Resiliency Program which proactively hardens the company’s systems to continue providing safe and reliable service to all customers. The Gainesville project began in January 2021 and upgraded more than three miles, In total, the upgraded NYSEG Gainesville 594 circuit and the upgraded RG&E 7704 circuit serve more than 1,200 customers. 

Prior to starting construction, NYSEG also completed enhanced tree trimming along the power lines, which included trimming from ground to sky and removing overhanging limbs to create a higher overhead clearance. This will help to protect the infrastructure during the winter months when snow and ice can weigh down vegetation, causing it to come into contact with power lines.

NYSEG is a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. 

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