Wildwood Transmission Line Project
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

(Click on the map above to get a detailed look at the project area.)

 

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Duquesne Light systematically analyzes its transmission and distribution circuits that carry electricity across its service territory.  When necessary, the company will replace existing equipment, wires and poles with new facilities in order to continue to provide safe, reliable service to our customers.

Over the last two decades, as the North Hills communities in Allegheny County have grown, attracting new residents and businesses, the demand for safe and reliable electricity has grown as well.  In anticipation of a continuing need for additional electrical service in Hampton, McCandless, Pine and Richland Townships, Duquesne Light is upgrading its Wildwood substation, which is located just north of Wildwood Road in Hampton Township, Allegheny County, and the electric circuits that feed and originate from the substation. 

The last upgrade to the distribution service in this area occurred as the commercial and residential load increased in the early 1970s.  At that time, higher capacity circuits were built to carry power that originated from the North and Pine Creek substations. Increased demand for electricity requires upgrading the Wildwood substation from 23 kilovolt (23kV) to 138 kilovolt (138kV).  In order to upgrade the substation, the existing 23kv sub-transmission line that serves the Wildwood substation will be rebuilt to accommodate the 138kV transmission line.  The new 138kV transmission line will extend from the upgraded Wildwood substation to the existing North substation.

 

PROJECT NEED AND BENEFITS

The reasons for upgrading the Wildwood substation to 138kV include:

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Wildwood substation was built in 1938 when the portions of Hampton Township and McCandless were mostly rural and demand for electricity was much less then that expected to meet today's needs.

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Presently, Wildwood substation is supplied by a 23kV sub-transmission line from the North 138kv substation. Wildwood substation provides 4 kilovolt (4kV) distribution service to commercial and residential customers in the area. Area Growth in commercial and residential load in the early 1970s rendered the 4kV distribution system inadequate to support the additional capacity requirements. Consequently, the additional growth was supplied by extending existing 23kv distribution lines, which originated from the North and Pine Creek 138kV substations. The sheer length of these circuits exposes them to greater potential to various outage causing factors which can result in undesirable service interruptions.

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Over the last two decades, the load has continued to grow. Both the 4kV and 23kV distribution lines are experiencing overloads during peak load periods, as are the 23kV transformers at North and Pine Creek substations.

The benefits of upgrading the Wildwood substation to 138kV include:

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Circuit reliability in the area will be improved along with the quality of service.
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Distribution circuit loading problems in the area, such as transfer capabilities between circuits, will be alleviated.
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Overloads on the 23kV transformers at North and Pine Creek Substations, which could result in lengthy outages, will be greatly reduced.
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The exposure to outages in the area will be minimized by reducing the length of the lines supplying the area.

 

TYPICAL LINE PHOTOS

The transmission line will generally be constructed by replacing the existing wood pole structures in place, and will resemble a typical wood pole line supplying the area. The photo labeled existing 23kV line is in the Wildwood area. The other photos show typical 138kV lines in Duquesne Light's service area that the proposed 138kV Wildwood transmission line will resemble.

Existing 23kV Line

Typical 138kV Overbuild

Thompson Run Road looking north
between Hazlett and Duncan

Old William Penn Highway, Monroeville, PA
Looking East
   

Typical 138kV Pole Line

Typical 138kV Pole Line

Mifflin Road, Pittsburgh
Looking SW
(138kv Line in background;
distribution line in foreground)		 Mifflin Road, Pittsburgh
Looking NW

See a before and after comparison of the wood poles along the proposed 138kv transmission line.

 


ROUTE SELECTION

To facilitate the selection of the route for the Wildwood transmission line, Duquesne Light contracted GAI Consultants to complete a comprehensive study of the projected environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the line. This study evaluated a total of 23 environmental and socioeconomic resources criteria to determine the impacts for seven alternative routes. These 23 resource criteria were selected based on Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) regulations, as well as traditional environmental impact assessment criteria. An additional resource criterion, which was not part of the GAI study, reflecting the proximity of the transmission line to existing houses, was also included in the selection of the proposed route. In addition to these criteria, system planning and reliability issues also were considered.

The route described below was determined to be the most suitable for the Wildwood transmission line. The line will have very little environmental impact since it follows an existing 23 kV line and most of its 4.9-mile length will be on right-of-way presently owned and occupied by Duquesne Light.

The route was also selected because it extends directly to a new 138kv breaker position to be installed in the North substation.  This provides a new and completely independent line from North substation to Wildwood substation, thereby increasing the electrical capacity and further improving service reliability to the area.

After a lengthy and comprehensive review by the PUC and an Administrative Law Judge, and numerous public hearings, the PUC gave final approval on February 5, 2007 for this project. (Docket No. A-110150F0031)

 

ROUTE DESCRIPTION

The Wildwood transmission line will follow a 4.9-mile route through Hampton, McCandless and Ross Townships. It will run south from the Wildwood substation, and connect to the 138kv portion of the existing North substation. A length of 1.5 miles of the line will be located within Hampton Township, a length of 2.3 miles will be located within McCandless Township and a length of 1.1 mile will be located in Ross Township. Approximately 98 percent of the length of the line will be a replacement of the existing 23kv sub-transmission line currently serving Wildwood substation.  The remaining 2 percent of the line will be new construction at the southern end, which is on Duquesne Light property and requires no new right-of-way. None of the line will be located on rights-of-way that are not currently occupied or owned by Duquesne Light.

  Line Replacement on Existing Rights-of-Way
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The Wildwood transmission line exits the Wildwood substation, which is located just north of Wildwood Road in Hampton Township, toward the west along the south side of the substation access road (for approximately 400 feet).
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The line then turns southward and follows the eastern boundary of North Park (for approximately 3,900 feet).
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The line turns southwest (for approximately 1,900 feet) through North Park and across Hemlock Drive.
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The line turns westward following the southern boundary of North Park (for approximately 1,600 feet), where it enters McCandless, and continues (for approximately 1,000 feet), to Peebles Road.
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The line follows Peebles Road to the southwest (for approximately 2,400 feet), and then turns southward (for approximately 1,600 feet) to Sample Road.
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It then follows Ringeisen Road and Duncan Avenue (for approximately 2,000 feet) to the major intersection of Thompson Run Road, Duncan Avenue and Ferguson Road.
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The line continues southward following Thompson Run Road for 5,100 feet where it enters Ross Township.
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In Ross Township, the line continues along Thompson Run Road for another 5,400 feet to where it turns eastward, crossing Thompson Run Road and entering Duquesne Light property containing the North substation.
  Line Installation on Duquesne Light Property
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The line extends eastward for 600 feet on Duquesne Light property to a new 138kv breaker inside the North substation.

 

RIGHT-OF-WAY CLEARING AND OTHER IMPACTS

Trees are a major contributor to the number of electrical outages experienced by Duquesne Light customers. The trees of our region and their associated growth rates present vegetation management challenges when it comes to electric reliability. The maintained separation between vegetation and powerlines increases with voltage, therefore, greater clearances will be required to accommodate the new 138kV transmission line. Select removal of trees and other vegetation along with pruning will be necessary to facilitate construction, but most importantly, to insure the safe and reliable operation of the newly upgraded facilities. This work will be performed along the entire 4.9 mile route of the existing powerline rights-of-way.

Notification of property owners who have trees or other vegetation identified for removal or pruning to accommodate the new line will begin on September 15, 2008. If you have questions, please promptly respond to the notification effort by directly contacting the project planner at the telephone number identified on the doorhanger. Upon receipt of your call, the project planner will respond to answer vegetation-related questions or hold further discussion, if you so desire, on the work to be performed near your property.

Due to the overhead nature of vegetation clearing and line construction work, traffic control and worker protection will be in place to ensure the safety of both our contractors and the general public as this work is performed. Please accept our apologies in advance for the temporary inconveniences of incidental noise and traffic disruptions. We pledge to perform our work safely and professionally throughout this project.

Unfortunately, there may be times when temporary lane closures are necessary for roadways along the new transmission line route (Thompson Run Road, Ringeisen Road, and Peebles Road) during times when poles are delivered to the work area, as well as for vegetation work (large tree pruning and/or removal). Also, there will be instances where Contractor’s will have to access some customer properties for vegetation/construction work. All Contractors and DLC staff will be wearing ID badges and safety hard hats.

Because new transmission line poles are being installed in the same right-of-way containing active electrical distribution wires, there might be occasions when a temporary electrical outage is required for our Contractor to perform necessary work safety. DLC would contact affected customers of any outage and its estimated duration.

The construction schedule will be updated each week on the web site as required to alert DLC customers of these potential disruptive events in the construction areas.