Negotiations between Muncie and Indiana Michigan Power have yielded new plans for a new substation.
This comes two years after Ball State, the city, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital and a neighborhood association opposed I&M’s plans to build a new substation located at University and Tillotson avenues.
Original plans had the new substation fully visible to the public.
“We now recognize that it is a gateway to the campus and city,” Tracy Warner, I&M spokesman, said.
The new plans include hiding the substation’s presence from the community by placing it in an enclosure of decorative fencing and walls.
Estimated costs for this new substation haven’t been announced yet. However, the original estimate of $13 million is lower than the new proposal.
The project is vital to I&M’s ability to provide safe, efficient and reliable electric service to the area, Warner said.
The current substation is about a half century old and currently running on temporary transformers. The new station would operate on newer gas-insulated switchgear, which will allow the equipment to be housed indoors and at closer spaces. Older substations rely on air as its insulation and require being spaced far apart.
“The importance of that to our community is a main thoroughfare into our Ball State community and toward our downtown,” Mayor Dennis Tyler said. “That area has become so dense that we felt it needed to be addressed. And it’ll give us a much smaller footprint.”
Tyler said vehicles going down Tillotson Avenue won’t realize it is a substation.
The next step for the project’s time scale is approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. However, that could take up to a year, Warner said.
Following approval from the IURC, construction could be completed as early as the summer of 2016.
Randy Howard, vice president for business affairs, said he was pleased with negotiations.
“I&M has done a good job of working with the community to find a solution that provides reliable energy while also preserving the vibrancy of the area,” he said. “So we are particularly appreciative of their extra effort and pleased with the current plans.”
Tyler said he hopes the new station will provide a better service.
“There won’t be an issue with the service now and the construction, unless there is a power outage,” he said. “I&M has been showing that they are being a good neighbor.”
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