New Substation for Holland Board of Public Works Set to Come Online in Summer 2023

Michigan public power utility Holland Board of Public Works continues to make progress on the construction of a new substation.

The East Point Substation will be the utility’s 10th substation and is projected to go online by June 30, 2023. It will be able to serve 80 megawatts of additional load.

Over the past four years, Holland BPW’s electric territory has experienced a substantial amount of meter growth in every customer category: residential, commercial, and industrial, noted Julie DeCook, Communications Manager at the utility.

She said that the biggest driver for building the new East Point substation is an expansion of the LG Energy Solution EV battery plant in Holland. The LG Energy Solution expansion is expected to increase Holland BPW’s annual energy needs by roughly 40%.

“On top of that, other companies are building new construction and expansions in the same area. Those additional companies are also increasing the need for electrical distribution capacity,” she said.

When asked if there have there been any supply chain challenges related to the substation project, DeCook said that while supply chain issues are present, “we try to navigate those challenges with forethought. We ordered specific equipment well in advance in order to keep the project on schedule. We expect to bring this substation online in Summer 2023.”