Safety device at Florida substation has been broken for years as city weighs $500,000 overhaul

A safety device designed to protect an entire electrical substation in Quincy, Florida, has been broken for years. After years of deferred maintenance, city officials are pursuing a $500,000 overhaul that could leave the city dependent on a single substation during the work.

Here's what to know

Quincy's Community Redevelopment Agency unanimously approved a funding ceiling for improvements to the Southside substation, according to FOX49. The facility's deteriorating equipment threatens reliable electricity for thousands of customers.

An assessment documented failed circuit breakers that had not been replaced, along with deterioration in the main transformer's gaskets, oil systems, and instrumentation. The transformer had also gone without proper testing and maintenance.

Parts of the control building are rotting and falling apart. The substation also lacks a working circuit switcher, the safety device intended to protect the entire facility against electrical faults.

More background

Outages that would typically affect only a small neighborhood can now spread across a much larger area in Quincy, according to FOX49. Damaged equipment has required the city to reroute electrical loads through longer distribution circuits.

Quincy utility director Richard Ash identified contact between animals and electrical equipment as one cause of these disruptions. Southside is one of only two major substations in the city.

"Basically, the whole thing needs to be redone, just to ensure the reliability of the system for our customers," Ash said.

The city would rely on Northside for roughly four to five months during winter while Southside is shut down for the proposed repairs.

Northside has newer transformers and some other newer equipment, but a failure there during construction could leave customers without electricity until repairs are completed.

What's being done?

After unsuccessful attempts to obtain grants and legislative funding, the CRA proposed putting as much as $500,000 from redevelopment funds toward improvements at Southside, FOX49 reported. That would pay for the work outside the city's regular utility budget.

The board's 4-0 vote approved maximum funding amounts for multiple redevelopment priorities, including the substation. Before construction can begin, however, the Southside project must still satisfy purchasing rules and obtain authorization for contractual commitments.

The final price will depend on updated bids, since the available construction estimates are outdated. The funding vote did not award a construction contract.

The city also intends to upgrade Northside once work at Southside is finished.

Where can I learn more?

Quincy's aging substation shows how overdue repairs can put reliable power at risk.

• In Ocala, a $107,000 software renewal would keep utility outage calls and crews moving.

• In Tallahassee, an underground fire damaged roads, knocked out lights, and disrupted downtown traffic.

• Florida's $94 million storm funding targets repairs to battered power grids and vulnerable homes.

• In Gulf Breeze, buried power lines held up when Isaias tested the city's infrastructure.

• In New York, NYSEG targets 800 miles of upgrades as aging equipment strains the grid.

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