While a power outage of any kind is inconvenient, sometimes outages are necessary for Liberty crews to complete necessary work safely. In 2023, Liberty completed the construction of a new substation in Portola and the installation of green jacket coverings throughout the North Valley region.
Liberty will also provide a free plant/shrub for Liberty customers via its community canopy program, which includes a special pick-up option for Loyalton and Portola customers.
The New Portola Substation
Substations are critical to the delivery of safe and reliable electric service. A substation takes high transmission voltage and reduces it to a voltage that is usable and safe for distribution to homes and businesses.
In 2023, Liberty began building a new substation in Portola to replace the old one, which had reached the end of its useful life. This substation was built next to the existing substation to keep Liberty’s footprint small and to maintain service reliability during construction. Certain overhead wires were moved underground. This new substation will help meet customers’ electricity needs and support future growth.
Modern equipment in the new substation can detect faults quickly while meeting customers’ power demands, which may result in fewer and/or shorter outages for the Portola area and help reduce the risk of wildfire ignition. The new substation went into service in March 2024.
Green Jacket Installation
Green jacket installation also aims to reduce the frequency and/or duration of outages. Contact between an object and electrical infrastructure that causes a ground can result in a power outage.
To help prevent these kinds of outages, Liberty installed green jackets, which are simple, yet effective, plastic coverings used on electrical infrastructure, particularly inside substations. The coverings are custom-designed to fit transformers, wire, and connections that may be at risk of grounding electricity if something touches them. Green jackets also help to reduce the frequency of power outages and decrease the risk of a wildfire ignition from electrical infrastructure. Preventing contact with electrical infrastructure by an object or animal helps to improve service reliability, mitigate wildfire risk, and can even save the lives of animals.
Safe installation of green jackets and other infrastructure improvements often require a planned power outage. To minimize the impact to customers, Liberty attempted to do as much work at night as possible.
Receive a Free Tree Through the Community Canopy
Program
Liberty believes in giving back to our communities and contributing to a more sustainable future. Our vegetation management efforts include inspecting, pruning, and removing trees, and other vegetation to maintain required power line clearance. Dead and dying trees are removed to reduce the threat to power lines, enhance forest health, and help protect the local community through fuel reduction.
Trees are an integral part of our environment in the Tahoe-Sierra area, so Liberty is working with the Arbor Day Foundation to give back to our customers with our Community Canopy program, a unique program designed to help you better understand where to plant trees on your property for maximum energy savings. This program is made possible by the Arbor Day Foundation and Liberty.
At Liberty, we're committed to a greener, healthier world. Trees around homes will not only help reduce the amount of energy your home requires, but they also add to your property value, reduce your carbon footprint, improve the air quality, and more effectively catch stormwater runoff. It is our intention that the free trees we provide be a gift to you and your community.
Liberty customers are eligible to receive a FREE low-growing tree, plant or shrub on a first-come, first-serve basis while supplies last.
To receive your FREE TREE:
Reserve online at enegysavingtrees.arborday.org, then PICK UP YOUR TREE at the Arbor Day event in Portola on April 27th from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Portola City Park, S. Gulling St. across from city hall (available for customers in Portola, Loyalton, Sierra Brooks, Bordertown, Verdi, and Floriston).
3 and 5-gallon species available: common lilac, flamingo willow, purple leaf sand cherry, purple smoke tree, snowberry, and tiger eyes sumac.
300 plants are available for reservation on a first come first serve basis and will be reserved for pickup at the event.
