By J.W. Oliver
Central Maine Power Co. crews work on the power lines along Route 130 in Bristol Mills. CMP hopes to complete the project to improve the reliability of service in Bristol and South Bristol in early summer.(Photo courtesy Sherrie Tucker/www.sherrietucker.com) |
A new substation on Bristol Road (Route 130) in Bristol and ongoing line work in the area will reduce the frequency and duration of outages in Bristol and South Bristol.
CMP currently delivers electricity to Bristol and South Bristol via a single 208-mile circuit, the seventh-longest of hundreds in the state, spokeswoman Gail Rice said. The project will split this circuit into two circuits.
The work will also allow a Damariscotta Mills substation to feed Bristol and South Bristol in the event of a problem with the peninsula’s power supply, Rice said.
The flexibility those changes provide is intended to reduce the frequency of outages, reduce the number of customers who lose power in an outage, and help CMP restore power more quickly after an outage, Rice said.
The line work started in January and should wrap up by early summer if the weather cooperates, Rice said. The new substation should be complete by August.