Irontown Electrical Substation Project

The City of Negaunee is announcing their intent to construct a new electrical substation. The decision to move forward on this project was based on a 2021 Power Systems Engineers (PSE) study, that was commissioned by the Negaunee City Council. The 2021 study looked at two options. The first option was to make upgrades to components at the non-city owned substation located at US 41 and Brown Avenue. Option Two was to construct a new substation altogether.

The study found that most of the equipment at the current location is 40-60 years old and has exceeded its expected lifespan. The study also determined that the capacity of this location is near its peak load.

“The study was a good eye-opener. It showed that we certainly needed to do something and something soon. Being the only location where electricity is fed into the city, we are currently running the risk of a catastrophic failure. Should this equipment fail or be damaged in some way, power could be out in the city for everyone for a number of days or longer,” City Manager Nate Heffron said.

“The current location was built for a different era. Negaunee is beginning to grow, that means we need more power. The current location also is very concerning to the city. Being so close to the highway, accidents happen all the time along US-41, not to mention all of the salt corrosion,” Negaunee Electrical Crew Chief Mark Wainio said.

The study concluded that over a ten-year period that the construction of a substation would cost far less than updates at the current facility. The study also concluded that replacing the current facility would address primary concerns that the city had with increase capacity and having a safe, secure, and resilient location.  

Currently the City is working with PSE on finalizing a site location and design of the new substation which will be known as the Irontown Substation. More information on this will be released as final decisions and analyses are made.

Such a complex project with many moving parts and regulatory oversight required some specialized legal services, at the recommendation of our City Attorney, the City Council retained the Dickinson Wright law firm to review the proposed project. Among other things, the attorney at Dickinson Wright specializes in administrative and regulatory law and stated that “they have reviewed several contracts related to this project and have determined that that everything is in order for the city to proceed.”

Questions concerning this release may be directed to the attention of the City Manager, Nate Heffron at (906) 475-7700 ext. 11.