Construction has been completed on Soapstone, a new, upgraded 138kV substation in the Schuyler area. The Soapstone substation will improve reliability for CVEC members, as well as allow CVEC to continue to receive electricity from Appalachian Power’s upgraded 138kV transmission system.
Schuyler is a wooden-framed substation that was built in the 1970's as a metering point and has only one circuit to serve homes in Nelson, Albemarle, and Buckingham. Soapstone will have 2 circuits to serve members and will use the newer AEP 138kV lines versus the older 46kV lines. After a brief outage on February 13, members served by CVEC’s Schuyler substation will be permanently switched to Soapstone. The Schuyler substation will be dismantled and removed in the next year.
Soapstone is the first brand-new substation construction for the cooperative in years. Last year, CVEC also upgraded Gladstone and Tower Hill transmission lines from 46kV to 138kV and is rebuilding those substations, and will be complete in 2024. These updates ensure that our equipment is adequately sized to receive electricity from Appalachian Power’s recent transmission system upgrades.
