A New Chapter for Calgary’s Original Substation

Photo Description: Artist renderings of the new No. 1 Substation.

A new chapter

for Calgary’s original substation

- By Julia Perkins -

Managing Editor, Communications, ENMAX Corporation

ENMAX Power is the regulated Alberta-based wires business of ENMAX Corporation that owns, operates and maintains the transmission and distribution system in and around Calgary, Alberta, serving more than 510,000 customers.

The utility continues to modernize its grid and replace aging infrastructure to reliably meet the energy needs of its customers both now and in the future.

Powering Calgary for more than a century

Some of ENMAX Power’s substations have supplied power to Calgarians for multiple decades, notably No. 1 Substation. True to its name, No. 1 Substation is Calgary’s original substation, built in 1912 to power the early streetlights and streetcar rail system in the city.

No. 1 Substation has evolved over more than 100 years and supplies power to approximately 45 per cent of the Calgary’s downtown geographic area (about 3.2 square kilometers). This equals more than half of ENMAX Power’s downtown metered customers (approximately 19,500), including high-rise residential buildings, commercial customers, data centers and health care facilities.

“Due to the substation’s age, condition of the equipment and criticality of its power supply, the ENMAX Power team identified an impending need to replace the major assets in No. 1 Substation, which are at or nearing end of life for their reliability and safety,” said Jana Mosley, Senior Vice President, ENMAX Power. “After considering various options and consulting with stakeholders, the team determined that rebuilding the substation in place would not be ideal for safety, cost, size and other factors, and that the best option would be to build a new substation on a new site.”

Planning for a new No. 1

This led to a two-year planning phase, resulting in an application to the Alberta Utilities Commission for regulatory approval. After more than a year-long regulatory process on the facility application, the Commission determined that the project was in the public interest and issued approval to ENMAX Power in January 2021.

In recognition of how Calgary has grown around the original substation and the vitality of Calgary’s downtown, engagement and feedback from customers and key stakeholders were essential in the design of the new substation. It considers current and future land use and includes visually appealing features such as glass panels and artwork to interact with the people living and working in the area around the site.

The new substation will be located directly west of the existing No. 1 Substation and construction is anticipated to start in the third quarter of 2021. Given the downtown location, the team's thoughtful construction planning includes consultation and collaboration with stakeholders and municipal partners to ensure the work can be completed safely and impacts of road and lane closures are mitigated as much as possible.

The team expects the new substation to be fully complete by the end of 2024, with decommissioning and salvage of the electrical infrastructure at the existing site to take place in 2025.

“This is an exciting project for ENMAX Power and our customers,” said Mosley. “The opportunity to replace and refresh No. 1 Substation represents our continued commitment to providing safe, reliable service for Calgarians into our evolving energy future.”