Tucson Electric Power upgrades powerlines, substations and other parts of our local energy grid to prepare for summer’s high temperatures and powerful thunderstorms.

Our efforts to maintain and improve systems serving customers continues year-round. In 2023 alone, TEP invested more than $258 million to replace and improve electric switches, transformers and other equipment used every day to deliver service to homes and businesses throughout our community.

“Last summer was especially challenging in August when storms left tens of thousands of customers without power,” said David Wagner, TEP Director of Transmission & Distribution Line Construction and Metering. “During a typical summer, we replace about 100 poles damaged by storms. Last summer, we replaced twice that number. And since then, we’ve performed maintenance and completed several improvements to make our grid more resilient before this summer arrives.”

TEP made significant investments in substation upgrades including:

• $16 million to upgrade the configuration of breakers at the DeMoss-Petrie Substation, providing better reliability and more operational flexibility at a crucial local energy hub serving the serving the city’s core, west side and other area neighborhoods.
• More than $3 million to add a new transformer and related equipment at the 22nd Street Substation near East 22^nd Street and South Columbus.
• More than $10 million in a new substation, transmission lines and switchyard facilities at TEP’s Irvington Campus, a critical energy hub that serves customers throughout our service territory.
• A $7.7 million expansion of the Robert Bills Substation located near Interstate 10 and South Wilmot Road.

Crews also installed larger, stronger conductors to increase capacity on the local circuits that serve specific areas of town. Recent projects include a $2 million upgrade of lines serving customers near South Campbell Avenue and East 36th Street and a $1 million upgrade of lines near North Silverbell Road and West Neosha Street.

We also modified and installed new equipment to increase voltage in areas where additional energy capacity was needed. Improvement like these include a recent $1 million voltage conversion of lines serving midtown homes and businesses near North Columbus Boulevard and East 29th Street.

For information about ongoing transmission, distribution and substation projects, visit tep.com/projects.