Power to the Site: New Electrical Service and Safety First

A construction site needs two things before real work starts: power and safety. March delivered both.

The plant's original utility service was a small pole-mounted meter that had been reading remotely to nobody in particular for years. This month a new construction service went in: a fresh meter socket and disconnect on a pole-mounted board, permits posted, and inspection paperwork signed off. It's a humble milestone — a plywood board on a pole — but it means tools, pumps, and lights at the dam without running generators all day.

At the same time, we've fenced off the hazard areas. An old dam with open water channels, a headgate platform of uncertain condition, and a construction site in the making is not a place for casual visitors. The "DANGER — RESTRICTED AREA" signs are up, and we'd ask neighbors and the curious to respect them. There will be plenty to see here over the next few years, and we'll share the best views right here on this blog.

Meanwhile, we've been going through the mechanical equipment piece by piece — assessing what's salvageable, what's documentation-only, and what has to go. That assessment is feeding directly into the design work for the new plant: turbine selection, generator options, and how the new equipment will fit into (and around) the historic structures on site.

Spring is here, the site has power, and the real work is about to begin.