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Planning Board Hears Plans for South Street Substation

By Courtney Taylor, Master Control
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The Planning Board met with representatives from NSTAR to hear plans for the expansion of the substation located at 226 South Street during their November 17 meeting. The expansion will allow for more of the town of Hopkinton to be serviced by the station rather than being serviced by other towns. Near the site are an EMC driveway and building, and Milford residents on the other side of EMC. To speak on the project were Community Relation Representative Joanne O’Leary, Director of Substation Engineering John Zicko, Project Manager Duane Boyce and Senior Engineer System Planner Frank Snyder.

The original station was built in the mid 1990s with two transformers and one switch gear. In 2012, the two transformers were replaced in order to meet the increased capacity needed to service the town while some of the load was transferred to other towns. Due to increased service needs, Zicko stated that this is going to be harder to maintain. Adding a third transformer to the rear of the site along with a switch gear, a large box with circuit breakers, to the front of the site and some switching equipment was proposed. Also proposed were more shielding masts to protect the site from lightning strikes. The fenced area of the site is about 20,000 square feet and would be expanded to 34,000 square feet with the additions.

To better serve the town, underground lines would be installed along South Street. The work would take about two years to complete with all construction taking place during planned outages to the system in the off-peak season. However, no customer outages are expected as part of the equipment installation.

After speaking with Building Inspectors Chuck Kadlik and Mike Shepard, it was learned that the zoning does not allow for a substation in the area and the site does not meet some setback requirements. The original site was built with permission from the Massachusetts Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB) and included zoning exemptions, and permission for the improvements to the site will be sought from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU). The approval process takes about 9-12 months, and once granted, construction will begin in 2016.

When asked if the noise level would increase with the addition of the third transformer, Zicko stated that it would in theory. However, the original transformers had sound absorbing materials and a wall surrounding it, and they were barely audible from the property line. The same thing was done when the new transformers were put in, and they were still barely audible from the property line. When concern was raised over the differences in sound levels during the day and night, and with residences being nearby, Zicko stated that audible sound levels were looked into during the zoning exemption process.

When asked for a plan that showed screening for neighborhood properties, Zicko stated that, “We have done extensive work with a landscape architect.”

To screen the transformers from the EMC driveway, landscaping would be added to the area and only the tops of the transformers would be seen. A wall would be added for screening along South Street, and low vegetation would be added. Because access would be needed on one end of the property, a tight mesh fence was proposed at that end.

“We have thought about screening… We want to keep this looking as good as if not better than what’s out there now,” said Zicko.

Construction will begin on the site after approval is granted by the DPU and is expected to last until 2017.