Ameren Missouri on Wednesday brought a $1 million control house into the Heritage Substation under construction just west of Cape Girardeau, Mo., receiving delivery of the first of two large pieces of equipment that will help manage and control the new substation.
The control house, tipping the scales at more than 100,000 pounds, was delivered by truck from Iron Mountain, Mich. and will soon be lifted by crane into the substation Ameren Missouri is building along State Highway K about three miles west of Interstate 55. Manufactured by Systems Control, a division of Northern Star Industries, Inc., the control house will manage the operations of the new Heritage Substation's circuit breakers and electric lines.
With the control house delivery, Heritage Substation has received the first of two extremely large pieces of equipment it will need to operate, said Bob Dixon, director of the Ameren Missouri Southeast Missouri Division. The other piece of equipment—a transformer expected to weigh in at more than 460,000 pounds—probably will arrive in early 2016, Dixon said.
"The control house delivery marks an early construction milestone for the new Heritage Substation," Dixon said. "It's a key component in this segment of our plan to improve reliability and meet demand for electricity in the region."
Heritage is one of two substations Ameren Missouri is building on its roughly 119-acre State Highway K site as part of an $80 million plan to strengthen the power distribution system in the southeast Missouri region. Construction also is under way on the second substation, called Hitt Substation. Ameren Missouri's regional upgrade calls as well for the construction of a new 345,000-volt transmission line to serve Heritage from the Lutesville Substation, and of a six-mile 34,500-volt sub-transmission line between Cape Clark Substation and the new Hitt Substation.
Work began last December on Heritage Substation, which stands on about 11 acres on the west side of the Ameren Missouri site. Most of the grading and foundation work has been completed, and construction is under way on wiring conduits and steel structures that will hold substation equipment. Construction of the Heritage Substation is scheduled to be completed in April 2016.
Grading and wiring work began in April on the Hitt Substation, slated for about three acres east of the Heritage site. Construction on the Hitt Substation also is expected to be complete in April 2016.
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Ameren Missouri has been providing electric and gas service for more than 100 years, and the company's electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. Ameren Missouri's mission is to power the quality of life for its 1.2 million electric and 127,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. The company's service area covers 64 counties and more than 500 communities including the greater St. Louis area. For more information please visit AmerenMissouri.com or follow Ameren Missouri on Facebook or Twitter.