MVEA Invests in Mobile Substation with 2 Colorado Electric Cooperatives.
Falcon, CO – Mountain View Electric Association, Inc. (MVEA) linemen are called to restore outages caused by downed trees, vehicle accidents, and everything in between. MVEA takes pride in restoring members’ power as quickly and safely as possible. But what if a transformer in a substation fails and the fix isn’t simple? A new $2.1 million mobile substation purchased by MVEA, Y-W Electric Association, Inc., and Highline Electric Association can be called in for backup.
“If a substation transformer goes down, it could take up to 24 hours to diagnose the issue and could take several more days to repair,” Josh Braunschweig, MVEA System Engineer III, said. “Our new mobile substation can roll into our service territory in about four hours. Having access to a substation on wheels means having a reliable source of power for our members, if the unexpected happens.”
Not only will the new mobile substation be used in an unforeseen substation transformer outage, but MVEA will also be using the impressive equipment to provide power when planned substation maintenance needs to be performed.
“Weighing in at approximately 130 thousand pounds, the mobile substation is basically a complete mini-substation. It can provide power to 30 Walmart-sized stores or about 7,000-member homes,” Braunschweig said. “This new mobile substation is a key piece of equipment that provides peace of mind that our members will have reliable electricity.”
The new mobile substation is being stored at a location that is central and easily accessible by the three cooperatives that have joint ownership.