Pepco Holdings, Inc. needed to enhance its electrical system in the District of Columbia (D.C.) area. The regulated electric utility turned to Black & Veatch for improvement to a substation and underground transmission system. The goal of the improvement work was to promote energy assurance for the area. It also stimulated the economy in an area that included new federal government facilities and new high-density housing projects.

For Northeast Substation 212, Black & Veatch handled the design, procurement and construction of a new, air-insulated indoor substation. All equipment was enclosed within a masonry building. Black & Veatch teamed with Maiden & Associates, a D.C.-area architectural firm, to creatively provide a solution to meet the project’s design requirements. The exterior of the substation was designed as a masonry building with specific features to help the facility blend in with the surrounding neighborhood.

Black & Veatch professionals installed an array of substation equipment, including power transformers, switchgear, capacitor banks, network feeders, service transformers, redundant batteries and chargers. The substation was also sized to handle a variety of added power equipment to meet future power demands.

The underground work covered a route length of 3.7 miles. That part of the project called for design services for an array of equipment from an existing Pepco generating substation to the new facility. Two 69-kV underground cable circuits were installed in the concrete duct bank system to provide maximum protection. Fiberglass conduits were installed to allow for the addition of more circuits at a later date.