Sanger electric department outlines upgrades, substation plan and workforce push
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Sign Up Free
Summary
Ronnie, an electric department representative, told the City Council the department approved designs for a new substation transformer, restarted its apprenticeship program and will finish a smart‑meter rollout; funding and transformer lead times push some work into 2026.
Ronnie, a representative of the Sanger electric department, gave the City Council an annual update on system upgrades, workforce development and major projects during the Nov. 17 meeting.
He said the department’s engineer has approved design work for a substation expansion that includes a planned 20 MVA transformer and four reclosures “giving us a total of 8 feeder circuits out of the substation,” intended to support future load growth and enable looped circuits that improve redundancy. Ronnie said the substation work will help the city prepare for development along the I‑35 corridor and cited an I‑35 infrastructure relocation the city has completed as a related item now in reimbursement coordination with telecommunications providers.
The presentation included concrete program numbers: the smart meter rollout began in June 2023 and the department has 257 meters remaining that were delayed by supply‑chain issues; staff reported 187 meters installed this year for new customers, 2,178 work orders completed (including disconnects, reconnects, street lights and tree trimming) and 2,355 locates in response to 811 calls. Ronnie also said the city reinstated an apprenticeship program in 2025 with the Texas Workforce Commission to build local skilled talent.
Council members pressed on timing and budget. Ronnie said transformer lead times are a constraint and estimated deliveries and installations could push certain projects into 2026; staff also said they have budgeted capital to begin phased distribution upgrades and to build about a mile of “trunk” primary line as part of longer‑term looped circuits. Council members asked whether distribution upgrades can start before the substation comes online; Ronnie responded that distribution work can proceed in parallel.
The presentation closed with a brief update on local development hookups: the Tom Thumb grocery and the Belles Road retail project have required new transformers and multifamily phase‑1 infrastructure has been installed. Council members thanked staff for the briefing and moved on to the evening’s consent agenda.