ATLANTA — A planned expansion of a Georgia Power substation in a hot in-town residential neighborhood is drawing some anger in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward.
The utility said it needs to modernize its site and has bought property to upsize it.
"It’s a great street," said Sam Shapero, who is raising a family on a street that’s about a half block from a sizable Georgia Power substation in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward.
Georgia Power aims to nearly double the footprint of the substation, which has been an issue here for months.
"It's been incredibly stressful," Shapero said. "We’ve been talking to them for about a year. For a long time, it seemed like it was going well and they were listening to us."
Residents said Georgia Power quietly bought eight homes and a ninth residential parcel as part of the expansion project. Some of the homes purchased have been razed already.
Georgia Power never used its power of eminent domain to purchase any of the property, though residents said the implied threat of taking it involuntarily has factored into decisions to sell.
Three homes due to be razed are across from Shapero's house, where he's lived since 2009.
The land purchases gave the utility the property it needs to expand. Then the plan got ugly, said Shepero, who is an electrical engineer himself.
"We don’t understand why they're building the substation as large as humanly possible with a maximum grade, 10 to 15 feet from the road," he said, citing plans the utility has provided. "There’s smart ways of doing it and there’s dumb destructive ways of doing it. And Georgia Power has chosen the dumb destructive way."
Georgia Power's Misty Fernandez disputes the contention the substation will come that close to the road.
She said the larger site is necessary to modernize its substation, and they have room to expand it as the city's electricity needs and population expand.
"The option we ultimately landed on was the least disruptive and also the most cost-effective," Fernandez said.
Fernandez said the size of the green space buffer has changed over the last year but now provides for a 40-foot strip of green space in front of Shapero’s house. It will also include a security wall to contain new 65-foot towers. She said residents will be consulted on the design of the wall.
"As we know, this area of Atlanta continues to grow. And so that’s required us to and secure additional property to make sure we can meet these needs and the energy needs of our customers," Fernandez said.
Residents are having a neighborhood meeting Tuesday night to brainstorm their next move. They’re asking politicians to intervene. They also know Georgia Power has its own political clout and now owns the land it wants – possibly giving the utility the upper hand.