RG&E Completes Reliability Upgrades in Henrietta

Resiliency investments to bring enhanced reliability to nearly 3,000 customers

ROCHESTER, NY — December 21, 2021 — Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E) announced today that it has completed reliability upgrades in the town of Henrietta at the company’s substation 419 located on Lehigh Station Road. The project created a new circuit, which delivers power to customers’ homes and businesses, from the substation to bring enhanced reliability to nearly 3,000 customers.
 
“Reliable power is a very important issue for Town residents and so all of the efforts RG&E has been putting into improved reliability and redundancy has been a welcomed enhancement for the local power grid,” said Henrietta Town Supervisor Stephen L. Schultz.

The primary goals of the project were to make the grid more reliable and reduce the energy load placed on the existing circuits. The new circuit (5245) will now serve approximately half of the customers who were originally served by circuit 5155. This will increase reliability for customers served by both circuits by minimizing the number of customers who will be impacted by outages. Additionally, the new circuit 5245 connects to multiple adjacent circuits, resulting in enhanced reliability by allowing customers to receive their electricity through another path if the primary circuit requires repairs.

This project is part of the RG&E’s Resiliency Program which proactively enhances the company’s electric systems to provide improved safe and reliable service to all customers. It began in 2019 and involved crossing both I-390 and the New York State Thruway to create the new circuit. While the portions of the circuit that cross the highways are underground, the 5245 circuit also includes seven miles of overhead wire. The poles that are part of the new circuit are more resilient to wind damage than older poles due to their large diameter.

“This is the culmination of two years of hard work by our team to complete these crucial upgrades for our customers,” said Michelle McDonald, manager of resiliency field projects at RG&E. “We had support from many community partners to make this project a success, including the New York State Thruway Authority. We also would like to thank our customers for their patience and for being courteous to our crews during this work. We’re excited to energize the new circuit and bring enhanced reliability to our Henrietta customers.” 

The station 419 project is one of the several local investments RG&E is making in its delivery system to provide additional power to meet growing demand, increase reliability, and accommodate growth and economic development in its service areas. Earlier this year, the company also completed major upgrades to the electric transmission system in the Rochester region as part of the Rochester Area Reliability Project. This included the construction of a new substation in the town of Henrietta and new and rebuilt transmission lines in the City of Rochester and the towns of Gates, Chili and Henrietta.

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About RG&E: Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (RG&E) is a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. Established in 1848, RG&E operates approximately 8,800 miles of electric distribution lines and 1,100 miles of electric transmission lines. It also operates approximately 10,600 miles of natural gas distribution pipelines and 105 miles of gas transmission pipelines. It serves approximately 378,500 electricity customers and 313,000 natural gas customers in a nine-county region in New York surrounding the City of Rochester. For more information, visit rge.com. 

About AVANGRID: AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) is a leading, sustainable energy company with approximately $36 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states. With headquarters in Orange, Connecticut, AVANGRID has two primary lines of business: Avangrid Networks and Avangrid Renewables. Avangrid Networks owns eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. AVANGRID employs approximately 6,600 people. AVANGRID supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2019 and 2020 by the Ethisphere Institute. For more information, visit avangrid.com.

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