ComEd Announces Elmhurst Substation Expansion Project to Power Regional Economic Growth
April 10 2024 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Upgrades support future energy needs and
electricity capacity growth for homes and businesses in DuPage
County and northern Illinois
ComEd today announced the expansion of its 345,000-volt (345 kV)
Elmhurst transmission substation, a critical infrastructure
investment that will prepare the region for future power needs and
increase resiliency of the transmission system. Construction is now
underway, with the project expected to be complete by December
2025. Investments to expand the substation will support continued
dependability for existing customers and will allow for future
capacity upgrades to be made to foster continued economic and
business growth for the region.
“ComEd is proud to maintain and grow the most reliable grid in
the country, which requires proactive planning to meet the future
power needs of our customers,” said Mark Baranek, senior
vice president technical services at ComEd. “Investments like
the expansion of the Elmhurst substation will ensure the grid is
primed to support local business growth for many years to
come.”
This substation is one example of how ComEd is taking action to
modernize the grid to support increasing demand as a result of the
accelerated adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), residential heat
pumps and solar deployments in Illinois. Following the upgrades to
this substation, ComEd will be able to increase high-voltage
transmission capacity in the region as demand continues to
grow.
“Through all areas of its business, ComEd is looking at ways to
prepare the grid for the future, and that includes looking at the
potential for business growth in our communities,” said Greg
Bedalov, president and CEO of Choose DuPage. “The expanded
capabilities of this substation will continue to make DuPage County
an attractive location for large, commercial and industrial
businesses who depend on a reliable and resilient grid to maintain
their operations.”
“This investment in critical infrastructure means DuPage County
residents can now benefit from the increased resiliency of the
transmission system and find their electric power is more reliable,
especially during high-use periods and inclement weather. It’s
important that these upgrades take place now, while also providing
for future enhancements based on the residential and business needs
of our community,” said DuPage County Board Chair, Deborah
Conroy.
Engineering and design for this $93 million project began in
2023 and construction is currently underway. Construction of this
substation is being completed by a diverse, local firm, Ruiz
Construction Systems. Customers currently served by this substation
will not experience interruptions in power delivery due to
construction.
“We are proud to be part of the team advancing technology and
connectivity for northern Illinois,” said Gonzalo Ruiz, CEO of
Ruiz Construction Systems. “As a long-time partner of ComEd, we
are excited to work on another innovative grid project.”
Upgrades from this project will support increased connectivity
to neighboring substations in northern Illinois, increasing the
overall resiliency of the system. By increasing the number of
connective pathways from substation to substation, ComEd is
hardening the high-voltage transmission system to perform better
during severe weather.
This project builds on ComEd’s commitment to maintaining
nation-leading grid reliability. Since beginning its smart grid
investments in 2011, ComEd has helped customers avoid more than 22
million outages and save more than $3.8 billion in outage-related
costs.
ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon
Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 250 energy company with
approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers –
the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives
of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70
percent of the state's population. For more information visit
ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Instagram,
LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.
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