Delaware Electric Cooperative is a member-owned electric distribution company serving 100,000 members in Kent and Sussex County, Delaware. Our commitment is “Keeping the Lights On” by providing safe, reliable and competitively priced energy services for our member-owners and communities.
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New Substation Improves Reliability in Kent County
April 23, 2013
New Substation to Improve Reliability for Cooperative Members in Kent County
GREENWOOD, Del.- This week, Delaware Electric Cooperative energized a new substation in West Dover, designed to improve service and reliability for Co-op members. Scuse Substation was built along Hazlettville Road across from Dover’s Shuttee Park, and will now provide power to DEC members in western Kent County.
Cooperative officials said extensive growth in the county’s rural areas over the last two decades has placed increased energy demand on current substations. The construction of the Scuse Substation will help Delaware Electric Cooperative meet future electrical demands and will also improve reliability for members.
According to Ken Ellers, Vice President of Operations and Engineering at DEC, “During power outages in Kent County, we will be able to redirect power from the Scuse Substation to homes that are without power, something that has been difficult to accomplish with our current equipment.”
Ellers said the project also has financial benefits for the Co-op. Without the construction of the new substation in West Dover, DEC would be forced to build new transmission lines, which can cost up to $60,000 per mile.
The substation was named after the late Clarence Scuse, a longtime DEC Board Member. The project will not have an impact on member rates and is part of ongoing efforts to improve reliability.
Delaware Electric Cooperative is a member-owned electric utility serving 84,000 member-owners in Kent and Sussex County, Delaware. For more information, visit us on the web at www.delaware.coop or www.beatthepeak.coop or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Reporters’ Contact:
Jeremy Tucker, DEC Communications Manager
Office: 302-349-3162/ Cell: 302-382-4303
"Beat the Peak," is a program designed to help members become more energy aware and lower their power bills by using energy more efficiently and by reducing the energy consumed during peak periods when prices are at their highest. Learn more about how Beat The Peak saves you money.
In theory, electricity looks for the quickest path to ground, On its journey to the ground, electricity travels through conductors. Good conductors include water, metals, and people. Human beings are good conductors simply because about 70% of the body is composed of water.