New ComEd poles expected to alleviate outages in downtown Palatine

The village of Palatine is allowing ComEd to install two new power poles and equipment at Colfax and Smith streets downtown to alleviate outages for customers in the area.

ComEd's ground switchgear nearby is prone to flooding, which has caused seven outages - sometimes as long as 10 hours - in the last 11 years, village officials said.

"We have had multiple outages that have occurred at the complex that's to the north there," Joe Turnage, external affairs manager for ComEd, told the village council Monday night, referring to The Metropolitan condo building at 235 N. Smith St.

"One of our objectives is to get this done as soon as possible so we can minimize the potential outages next time we get a flood in that area."

The project entails installing two new power poles on Colfax Street, east of Smith Street, and one new pedestal on the east side of Smith Street, just south of Colfax Street, where the existing switchgear and transformer would be removed. According to ComEd, this is the safest and most cost-effective option.

A majority of village council members gave the green light to the project at the committee-of-the-whole meeting Monday night. Councilman Brad Helms, whose district includes downtown, voted "no," saying he first wanted to examine all options to avoid adding poles at that intersection.

Village Manager Reid Ottesen said the village would have to pay for modifications to the project. The transformer could be moved elsewhere at a relatively low cost, but relocating the switchgear underground would be much more expensive, he said. Ottesen also said he's concerned about giving up underground space because the village is planning a $5 million stormwater diversion program in the area.

"We don't like overhead poles any more than you do ... but this is where they need to be for their switchgear. We tried to explore other locations before this even got to you guys," Ottesen said.

Helms later gave a final "yes" vote during the village council meeting, also Monday night.