BANGOR, Maine — Emera Maine is ramping up its efforts to build a new substation behind Cascade Park to feed an increasing appetite for electricity in the area, much of which will come from the expansion of nearby Eastern Maine Medical Center.
Emera representatives will meet with members of the city’s Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday evening to discuss their plans for the new substation. The meeting is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. on the third floor of Bangor City Hall.
The project started taking shape in 2011, when then-Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. proposed a new substation along the southern boundary of Saxl Park, part of the state-owned Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center complex. At the time, EMMC was planning its $247 million, seven-story expansion, and needed the electricity to run it.
In 2012, then-Sen. Nichi Farnham, R-Bangor, added an amendment to a Senate bill to allow the state to negotiate the sale of state land to Bangor Hydro. That bill ultimately was adopted, but neither Bangor Hydro nor Emera ever completed the purchase.
As the hospital project pushes forward, the proposal to build a new substation has been revived. The current substation, located behind Bangor Water Works, is 60 years old and can’t handle additional load or be expanded due to site limitations, according to Emera.
“This is really meant to enhance the reliability of service for existing customers on the East Side and to support growth at the hospital,” Emera spokeswoman Susan Faloon said Monday. “We’re seeing load growth all over the community as well.”
Faloon said increased demand on the electric supply in the area would have demanded upgrades eventually anyhow, but the EMMC expansion adds significant demand in the near future.
The plan has changed since 2012’s version. Instead of being placed near the center of the southern end of Saxl Park, behind Bangor Water District, the new proposal would put the substation in the southwestern corner of the park. That would eliminate the need to build a utility road through a portion of Saxl Park, but would require building an extension to the end of Garland Street so utility vehicles could reach the substation.
Faloon said the new site is hidden from view from Garland Street and Cascade Park by thick vegetation and would be hidden from the view of nearby residents.
Emera officials say they have been reaching out to stakeholders — area residents, the Saxl Park Committee, city officials and Bangor’s legislative representatives — since 2011 and will continue to do so throughout the process.
Emera hopes to start construction in 2015 with the goal of completing the substation by mid-2016. The final sale of the Saxl Park plot would need to be approved by both the state and city.
A public meeting focused on the substation proposal will be scheduled for later this fall.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter @nmccrea213.