Halifax Upgrades

Halifax Upgrades

In early 2020, crews began work to upgrade the electricity system that services the area southeast of Quinpool Road.

 

We started this work in the areas of Preston, York, Jubilee, Cedar, Vernon, Shirley, Oxford, Larch, Coburg, South, LeMarchant, Edward, University, and College streets, along with parts of Dalhousie University, and adjacent side streets.  

 

Towards the end of 2020 and into 2021, we will expand to the areas of Chestnut, Watt, Jennings, Larch, Preston, Jubilee, Vernon, Almon, South Park, Wright, and Wellington.

 

This work will help strengthen service reliability and reduce power outages, and is part of our annual $100 million investment in maintaining and upgrading the poles, wires, transformers, and other pieces of equipment that deliver electricity to our customers across Nova Scotia. 

 

Why are we upgrading?  


We have seen the after-effects of Hurricane Dorian in communities that were hit hard across Nova Scotia, with subsequent outages caused by trees and electrical equipment that were weakened by the hurricane.

 

We are upgrading the system delivering power to this area with a modern 25 kV system.

 

Timeline and Planned Outages


The initial scoping and planning have been completed on Chestnut, Watt, Jennings and Larch streets, and the project is now in the execution phase.

 

Detailed planning is in progress on South Park, Wright, Wellington, and Almon streets, to determine the equipment and which structures require upgrades or replacements. The construction on these streets will begin in 2021.

 

Subsequent work on surrounding streets will take longer and extent into 2021, as these streets include buildings which will require more complex work, requiring detailed engineering planning and coordination with the property owners.

 

This work may require planned power outages in order to safely move service to the new equipment. Impacted customers will be contacted in advance of any planned outages.

 

Tree Trimming


We work closely with Halifax Regional Municipality to address tree-trimming in the neighbourhood. While infrastructure upgrades will reduce equipment failures, ensuring tree branches are trimmed back farther from power lines than what is presently done in the area is critical.

 

 

Contact Information

Customers with questions about the project can call 902-428-6269 or e-mail questions@nspower.ca. 

Current Status

A technician trimming the tree

Completed Work

  • Equipment upgrades on Shirley, Cedar, Oxford, Coburg, University and South streets.
  • Scoping on Chestnut, Watt, Jennings, Larch, Jubilee, and Vernon to determine what equipment needs to be upgraded or replaced.
  • Markers installed on Chestnut, Watt, Jennings, Larch and Jubilee. Requests also made for underground locates to gas companies and HRM for Jubilee and Vernon.
  • Tree trimming on Chestnut, Watt and University. Met with HRM and received permission for tree trimming on Jennings and Vernon.
  • Pole replacements on Chestnut.
  • Finalized plans for overhead conversions on Jennings, Larch, Jubilee, and Vernon streets, as well as a vault conversion on Vernon Street.

Next Steps

  • Begin tension stringing work on Chestnut. Once work is completed, crews will move to Jennings and Larch.
  • Replace secondary conductor on Chestnut and move to Jennings Street.
  • Complete remaining tree trimming on Vernon and Jubilee once the HRM permit is approved.
  • Finalize plans on Almon, South Park, Wright, and Wellington streets.