ComEd boosting security for Palatine transmission facility

Citing a federal government directive, ComEd will increase security at a transmission facility in a Palatine manufacturing district.

Palatine village council members have approved a plan for ComEd to install new barbed-wire fencing, which in some areas will be double the 6-foot height of what the company currently has around the West Colfax Street substation.

Ben Vyverberg, the village's director of building and zoning, said ComEd representatives outlined the facility's importance in a meeting with Palatine officials.

"They (ComEd) identified this as a critical piece of their infrastructure," Vyverberg said. "And, candidly, they have concerns about people getting into the site and harm that could come or anything that could occur if they get into the site. From their perspective, this is one of the numerous sites across the country that they have systematically identified for additional infrastructure and security improvements."

ComEd executive Michael Petty stated in a letter to the village that the utility has initiated power transmission facility projects to meet U.S. Department of Homeland Security requirements. He said the Palatine operation must be safeguarded from unplanned outages and unauthorized visitors who may get near dangerously high voltages that can cause injury or death.

Under the plan, ComEd will install 8- to 12-foot-high fencing with the barbed wire on the perimeter of the West Colfax operation. Work is to begin as soon as February and should be finished in October.

In addition to the new fencing, ComEd plans to use "smart lighting" at the power substation, which will be dark unless activity occurs in the area. The new system will replace what ComEd calls inefficient high-pressure sodium lights that are on when no one is present.