In a recent government meeting, officials discussed critical upgrades needed for three substations—5 Book, Rocky River, and Campbell—projected to face capacity overloads by 2031. The overloads are expected to range from 2.5 to 6 megawatts, necessitating transformer upgrades to maintain reliability.

The proposed solution includes the installation of batteries designed to function as microgrids, providing backup power to essential services such as police and fire stations, drugstores, and gas stations. These microgrids are intended to alleviate pressure on the substations, particularly during peak demand periods, especially on hot summer days when transformer failures are more likely.

The batteries, sized at 2.5 megawatts for two substations and 6.5 megawatts for the third, will store energy to support approximately 70% of the microgrid's load during larger grid failures. This innovative approach not only addresses immediate capacity needs but also offers a secondary benefit of enhancing community resilience.

Officials noted that the need for these upgrades was first identified after the summer of 2021, with some overloads already occurring as early as 2023. To manage these issues, load transfers to adjacent substations have been implemented as a temporary measure while awaiting the completion of long-term solutions.

The discussion highlighted the importance of these projects, which are expected to cost tens of millions of dollars, and emphasized the need for timely evaluations to ensure reliability for customers in the affected areas.