Celebrating the new Currin Substation
EWEB honored the completion of the rebuild of the Currin Substation this week.
Substations change, or "step down" high-voltage electricity from power generation stations to levels that can be safely distributed to homes and businesses. EWEB is known for its "resilient electric spine" of 38 substations. The system's redundancy in substations ensures that customers receive reliable power despite unexpected equipment failures.
That's why rebuilding the Currin Substation, considered EWEB's "Grand Central Station," was a major priority. Currin was built in 1962 during Eugene's rapid expansion. The Currin Substation feeds power from transmission lines owned by the Bonneville Power Administration and PacifiCorp to EWEB’s grid. It also connects transmission lines to the Hayden Bridge water filtration plant and to Eugene’s downtown electrical network.
EWEB engineers, field staff, and contractors have spent the past two years rebuilding the substation from the ground up to maintain electric reliability and meet modern standards.
We invited special guests to a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate the completion of the rebuild of the Currin Substation. Guests learned how a substation works and heard about the upgrades to this new substation. Thank you to our special guests for joining the celebration:
- EWEB Commissioners
- Eugene City Councilor Randy Groves
- Eugene Emergency Manager Zoe Rolly-Keef
- Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis
- Senator James Manning
Investing today for a resilient tomorrow
Many of the substations in EWEB's electric system were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, which is why EWEB is investing to manage the ballooning need to replace aging infrastructure. Over the next decade, EWEB will invest over $600 million in electric infrastructure.
The Currin Substation is just the first of several substations scheduled for a major rebuild over the next ten years as part of EWEB's major infrastructure investments for rehabilitating, replacing, and installing new infrastructure.
Currin Substation upgrades include:
- Robust and deep foundations, equipment designed to current seismic standards, and flexible connections to allow structures with the substation to move independently of each other during an earthquake.
- Modernized equipment and design to meet future demand and reliability needs.
- Public safety and security enhancements
History
Currin Substation is named for pioneer EWEB engineer Hugh Currin, who was influential in designing Eugene's electric distribution system from the 1920s to the 1950s during a time of rapid growth in Eugene. Read Currin Substation - the origin of the name
Related Programs
Currin Substation Rebuild
The rebuild effort has begun with the Currin Substation, which is located near Garden Way and Interstate 105.
Electric Reliability Explained
Do you know what percent of time your power was available and functioning like normal last year? The answer is about 99.97% of the time - but what does that mean?
