Weatherford electric staff say substations and distribution upgrades have kept capacity ahead of growth

An electric department representative told council that Weatherford now owns and operates five substations and that planners built spare capacity to avoid prolonged outages as growth accelerates. “We bought our substations… and we've gone from that 70 megawatts up to currently 250 megawatts,” the presenter said while explaining the need for distribution circuit work to balance load.

Staff described distribution upgrades to move load between substations and to reduce per‑transformer loading toward a 75% practice benchmark, which improves resiliency. The presenter said typical substation transformer procurement and delivery remain constrained by supply chains: a single transformer historically cost about $750,000 and lead times can be a year or longer; building a new substation was described in the $7–10 million range once transformers are shifted in place.

Council members asked how single large commercial loads (for example a major grocery) would affect substation load percentages; staff estimated a major grocer typically represents roughly a one‑percent change on a feeder. Members asked for a clearer time‑bound plan for the North and East Loop expansions to preserve reliability and meet growth, and discussed funding approaches including use of reserves, rate adjustments and bond capacity.

No formal policy change was adopted; staff were asked to include substation timing and budget options in forthcoming budget materials.