BELCO To Resume Transmission Upgrade Project
BELCO will “resume major road work on Monday, October 20, for the final phase of its Transmission Upgrade Project.”
A spokesperson said, “Work on the section of the transmission network from Seymour Farm Road to Evans Bay will require trenching and will begin on Middle Road adjacent to Seymour Farm Road and progress to Evans Bay where it will end.
“The public is encouraged to use South Shore Road to avoid congestion, but once the trenching reaches Barnes Corner there is no alternative route, and motorists are advised to allow extra time when traversing the area.
“Traffic lights will be in place for the duration of the project with manual traffic controls to accommodate rush hour traffic. There will be a break during the holiday period beginning in December with work scheduled to resume in January 2026.
“The transmission upgrade in the east end of the island is now complete. This final segment will complete the island-wide Transmission, Distribution & Retail [TD&R] asset upgrades designed to improve reliability and expand grid capacity for the island.
“BELCO’s entire transmission network has been underground for decades. The trenching work that has been taking place across the island is to replace 40% of the old, high-voltage underground transmission cables, some of which are more than 50 years old. Nearly 25% of the underground cables had served Bermuda for over 60 years. These cables and other transmission and distribution assets were beyond their useful lifespans, causing a higher number of faults, system vulnerabilities and higher maintenance costs.
“The transmission cables connect to substations around the island where the voltage is stepped down and is then fed into the distribution network and further stepped down to supply homes and businesses.
“The new cables are being installed in multi-service duct banks that will eliminate the need to dig up the roads for cable replacement in the foreseeable future. Working closely with Works & Engineering and other utilities, the construction phase was designed to complement Government’s future water and sewage plans as well as any cabling needs for other utilities.
“The current grid upgrade project hasn’t been undertaken to this scale since the 1950′s when there was significantly less traffic, causing less disruption. The project will create a more robust grid and enable BELCO to be able to better accept the interconnection of large-scale renewables in the future.”
BELCO Managing Director, Shelly Leman said: “This multi-million-dollar transmission upgrade project is one of the biggest, most important projects BELCO has undertaken in recent times. The works are substantially complete and once the project reaches Evans Bay, the targeted transmission upgrades will be complete across the whole island. This will be the last segment of trenching for the project. I encourage everyone to drive safely around open trenches and working crews. This project has many benefits for the consumer and will be the last time we need to trench roads to replace major grid infrastructure for the foreseeable future. I thank the public for their patience and understanding and look forward to the project being completed and ensuring a more reliable, sustainable energy future for all our customers.”
The spokesperson said, “More information about the Transmission Upgrade Project can be found on BELCO’s website at belco.bm.”
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