The switch is flipped on a new PG&E substation designed to reduce outages in parts of Monterey and P.G.

The giant light switch was a prop, but an effective one, signaling the transformation of a PG&E substation at the corner of Del Monte Boulevard and Figueroa Street in downtown Monterey and the promise of reduced power outages by 50 percent for more than 10,000 customers, during a ceremony on Thursday, June 4. 

The rebuilt substation, which was actually energized on May 6, services businesses in much of downtown Monterey and Old Town, plus the wharfs and Cannery Row up to and including the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It also affects the Presidio, New Monterey and Pacific Grove neighborhoods near David Avenue, including nearly all of Del Monte Park.

After about two years of construction costing an estimated $40 million, the substation—located next door to the Monterey Sports Center and obscured by walls mimicking the Sports Center's Spanish-style architecture—includes a new transformer, a state-of-the-art switchgear building and new power lines. The improvements bring an added 30 megawatts of electric capacity, enough to power 7,500 homes, according to a PG&E press release.

PG&E Regional Senior Manager Jeremy Howard told the gathering of Monterey officials, business people and others that the substation will carry customers into the future, as demand for electricity grows through the use of electric vehicles, electrification of appliances and added housing.

"All those things are important to the growth of a community and this substation is going to enable that for the next 30 to 50 years," Howard said.

James Tuccillo, senior manager of Electric Distribution Planning, said the goal was to reinforce the downtown Monterey location, which is between the station on Kolb Avenue near Fremont Street and Canyon Del Rey in North Monterey, that was recently upgraded and businesses in downtown and Cannery Row.

The Monterey station provides redundancy to the system, Tuccillo said, "so when a problem does occur we can more quickly restore power and get the lights back on."

It will make it easier to isolate problems and re-route electricity during power outages, including during extreme weather. The company can also re-route power to other nearby substations to perform routine maintenance.