Ground broken for electrical substation near Cape

Ameren Missouri broke ground Friday at a site between Cape Girardeau and Gordonville that will hold a new substation.

The project is part of a regional upgrade to substations and lines that company representatives say will improve the reliability of power in the area. The upgrade also will result in an eventual increase in customer's bills, albeit a small one, Ameren officials say.

Bob Dixon, director of the Southeast Missouri Division of Ameren, opened the groundbreaking ceremony, which also was attended by company employees, area government officials and representatives of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce.

"We know that the region is growing, and we are here to meet that demand of growth," Dixon said.

The upgrades, projected to cost $80 million and create up to 200 construction jobs, will prevent system outages that may occur by 2016, Dixon said. He added the upgrades are especially important to the company because one of the new lines will supply power to both Cape Girardeau's hospitals.

Cape Girardeau city manager Scott Meyer and Gordonville Mayor J.D. King were among local government representatives who attended the groundbreaking.

"Economic development is one of the five key objectives for [city council], and involves the workforce and having partners that invest in our city," Meyer said. "I think part of that, as you go out and talk to people about expanding their existing businesses or coming and starting a new business in Cape Girardeau, one of the things you talk about is the utilities. They are critical to that."

The program for the upgrades is called the Cape Girardeau Electric Reliability Program. The upgrades planned include the new substation on Route K that had the groundbreaking Friday, called the Hitt Substation, and a second substation nearby, the Heritage Substation. The program upgrades will include new and replacement transmission lines to several existing substations in Cape Girardeau. The projects are expected to be finished in May 2016.

A rate increase is expected as a result of the upgrades, but will not be seen for a few years, company representatives said Friday, and say they will be kept to a minimum.

Public meetings before the project were hosted by Ameren during the past several years.

eragan@semissourian.com

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