Sparta Substation Overheats, Needs Over $100 K In Repairs

Sparta has purchased some $110,000 worth of electrical supplies to fix an overheating problem at its substation.

Utility Manager Belva Bess said workers found a red flame at its industrial park circuit while conducting a daily check.

“We did an emergency bypass on that, because it already melted some of the steel behind it,” Bess said. “So we called in service electric to see what we needed to do in order to repair that.”

Bess said the switches being replaced were original to the substation from 1988. Bess said the new equipment will take about seven to 10 weeks to arrive.

“They’re having to regulate the loads now and out phases to make sure we are having a balanced load,” Bess said. “They’re having to pull some of that industrial load over, so it doesn’t overheat.”

Bess said the electric department using backups and spares until repairs happen. Bess said power loads are being regulated with daily checks.

“We have a high voltage going into the day when all the factories push up and then it goes down a little at night,” Bess said.