THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 5, 1995 TAG: 9505050607
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BUXTON LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
With the ceremonial flip of a 2-foot tall, glittering, gold light switch, Hatteras Island residents celebrated their new power supply system on Thursday.
More than 75 people were charged up enough about the upgrade project to attend an early evening ceremony on Light Plant Road.
Beneath white cloth tents, sitting in rented folding chairs, the crowd clapped and cheered as Cape Hatteras Electric Membership Co-op president Jack S. Gray and engineer Rich Bauer lifted the oversized switch - illuminating a 4-foot tall model lighthouse on a nearby table. Behind them, Buxton's new high-voltage substation formed a towering, wire-laced background.
``I am so pleased to have this honor,'' said Gray, whose father helped bring electricity to Hatteras Island a half-century ago. ``This is just a dream come true.''
A 60-mile stretch of sand that reaches from Oregon Inlet to Hatteras Inlet, Hatteras Island first received its power from generators that were brought in by barge.
In the late 1960s, electricity lines were strung across the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge from Nags Head, bringing power in from a central supply source. But because of the distance the charges have to travel - and the harsh seaside climate that corrodes transformers - the estimated 3,800 power customers on this southern Outer Banks island have been plagued by power problems.
Blackouts, some lasting hours, are frequent occurrences. Power surges have fried countless computers, microwave ovens and televisions. In summer months, additional power has to be produced with stand-by generators to accommodate all the extra air conditioning and other electricity needs of thousands of vacationers.
The new line - that stretches the entire length of the island - should alleviate many of those nuisances, power co-op manager James Sherfey said.
``For the last two summers, the lines to Hatteras Island didn't have the capacity to carry the load that was being demanded. Now, we won't need any major transmission projects for the next 10 years.''
The upgrade in electric service to a 115kv line originally was estimated to cost upwards of $25 million. On Thursday, Sherfey proudly announced that the project's total bill will be less than $10 million. Construction also was completed almost a month ahead of schedule.
More than 80 people - mostly from other states - spent the last seven months installing the new electric line. They set 400 new power poles, added new insulators to 800 poles, and added extenders to dozens of others.
Three new substations, in Avon, Waves and Buxton, were built to service the additional power supply. Those substations should meet Hatteras Island's electricity needs for at least 15 years, Sherfey said.
``We finally switched the last substation over to the new power lines around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night. It was completely successful and things have been going great since,'' said the power co-op manager. ``There's no place to party on this island at midnight - or we'd all have been partying then. There's certainly cause now to celebrate on Hatteras.'' by CNB