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Horizon Drive Receiving Power System Upgrade
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Horizon Drive’s business owners and managers have recently experienced a few unexpected power outages in the last few months that left them wondering what was causing the more frequent inconveniences. The Horizon Drive Business Improvement District’s Board of Directors eagerly set out to get the answers their constituents were looking for.
“We were pleased to act on behalf of our constituents in an advocacy capacity. It’s important that the Board is able to fill any role that our partners request,” says Dale Reece, Horizon Drive Board President.
The Board met with representatives from Xcel Energy who carefully outlined the reasons for the recent outages, and provided an update on the status of Horizon Drive’s power system upgrade. They found that comparatively speaking, the Horizon Drive area was not experiencing any more outages than other parts of the Valley, but the impact to their customers was greater.
“The customers we serve on Horizon Drive are mostly commercial buildings with large populations, which holds a much greater impact than a single family home in a residential area,” says Fred Eggleston, Xcel Energy’s Area Manager of Community Affairs.
Eggleston says the majority of the recent outages were due to the underground lines being hit and damaged by excavation equipment used in area construction projects, as well as Xcel’s Horizon Drive improvement project.
Horizon Drive holds a large number of Grand Junction’s hotels, restaurants, office buildings, and the Grand Junction Regional Airport. While the outages were definitely an inconvenience, area business owners were patient and cooperative.
“We know it’s a huge deal when a large hotel or a busy restaurant loses power, and we’re thankful for everyone’s cooperation and understanding as we finish up this improvement project,” says Eggleston.
In 1980, Horizon Drive was one of the first areas of town to be upgraded to underground power lines. Since then, materials and technology have improved dramatically to include more protective conduit to prevent corrosion, and thicker cables with more capacity and capability to prevent outages.
Xcel Energy began upgrading Horizon Drive’s power system in 2005, and the project is scheduled to be complete by the end of this year.
“We’ve now got strong communication with Xcel, and we will continue to keep our business partners informed of any new developments during the project’s construction,” says Reece.
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