The City Council voted Tuesday night to approve the purchase of 42.85 acres of property adjacent to the West Fork electrical substation in the Brosville community. The purchase will allow for expansion of the substation and add a fourth delivery point from Appalachian Power.
The purchase price is $180,000.
The West Fork project is the latest in a series of substation upgrades. Danville Utilities operates 15 substations and has been aggressively upgrading its system over the past five years. Upgrades at the Bridge Street, Brantley, Schoolfield and Riverside substations are complete. Upgrades at the Kentuck and Whitmell substations in Pittsylvania County are on track for completion next month.
Engineering is complete on the Southside and Westover substations, with most of the equipment on order for the project, to begin later this fall.
The West Fork project is in the engineering phase. Construction could begin late this year or in early 2022, with the facility completed by the middle of 2023.
The West Fork substation sits on about five acres on Long Circle, off U.S. 58, and serves more than 2,500 customers in southwestern Pittsylvania County and southeastern Henry County. The expansion will increase reliability and provide additional switching capabilities during maintenance and unplanned outage events.
The expansion also will provide a fourth delivery or receiving point for power from the transmission grid operated by Appalachian Power. of the transmission. Whether energy is purchased from Appalachian Power or another source, every kilowatt of electricity used by Danville Utilities is delivered from Appalachian Power’s grid.
Danville Utilities’ existing delivery points for Appalachian Power are off Kentuck Road, at Riverside Drive and Arnett Boulevard and at the Danville Utilities location at Monument Street.
In other matters last night, the City Council voted to:
- Appropriate 100,000 in state funds and $20,000 in local funds for airport maintenance, including pavement repairs for automobile parking lots, the primary runway and taxiway.
- Grant a short-term extension of deadlines to River District Development.
- Cancel the City Council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 3, and schedule a special meeting of City Council on Thursday, Aug. 5. The schedule change will allow City Council members to attend National Night Out activities on Aug. 3.
Also during the business session, the City Council held two first readings. The first involves authorization of a bond issue to finance various capital projects. The second item is an ordinance requesting the Circuit Court to order a special election on the issue of general obligation school bonds. A first reading is an introductory step required by City Code. City Council will vote on these matter in August.