Sunday, May 20, 2012 10:32 PM EDT

BERLIN — Connecticut Light & Power is in the final stages of a $42.3 million program to upgrade and strengthen its infrastructure across the state as the 2012 summer season — the time of greatest electricity consumption — approaches.

Every year, CL&P begins preparations for the summer during the previous fall to reduce the possibility of service interruptions for customers. 

"We are always working to ensure that our system can meet the demands that are put on it," said Ken Bowes, vice president, customer operations at CL&P. "These proactive improvements mean greater reliability for our customers." 

CL&P has taken a number of steps to prepare for the peak demand summer months and better serve its 1.2 million customers in 149 cities and towns across the state, including completing maintenance and upgrades on numerous underground electric delivery systems, including those serving Bristol, New Britain, Stamford, Greenwich, Norwalk, Waterbury and Manchester.

Other projects include installing and replacing transformers at substations and commissioning a new substation in the southern part of the state; undertaking projects in more than 20 communities to increase circuit capacity; performing inspections and follow-up maintenance on all distribution substations in areas where heavy customer demand is expected; verifying the integrity and efficiency of cooling equipment at all major substations to ensure the equipment will be appropriately cooled to avoid equipment failures from overheating while helping to deliver the needed power; conducting helicopter infrared surveys of transmission lines and land-based infrared surveys of over 200 CL&P substations.

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