Temescal Substation D 2014

Description:
PG&E Substation D, Shattuck Avenue and 51st Street (looking northeasterly), Temescal district, Oakland, Calif.

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Date of Document:
3-Sep-14

Document Author:
Jeff Norman

Geographic Location:
Shattuck Avenue and 51st Street, Oakland, Calif.

Context:
Built in the early 1900s, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Substation D has functioned to lower the voltage of electricity generated at distant power plants to a lower voltage for local usage. Located on the southeast corner of Shattuck Avenue and 52nd Street in the Temescal district of North Oakland, Substation D was sited adjacent to what had been the Key System s Western Car Barn (now the Temescal Plaza Shopping Center). In 1925-6, Substation D was modernized and expanded to meet the power needs of a fast-developing North Oakland. In circa 2012, "Underground Construction Co. Inc. (www.undergrnd.com/Services/Electrical.asp) worked with PG&E to extend Substation D in Oakland, CA to increase power reliability for the City of Oakland and its ongoing development. The project involved installing new steel structures to support precast concrete panels. Detailed field surveys were completed on the existing structural steel to ensure all new steel would bolt up and fit precisely." In 2014, PG&E completed another upgrade of Substation D, increasing its capacity from four kilovolts to 12 kilovolts. The $19 million project, which began in 2010, included the installation of new transformers and a seismic retrofit. The upgrade was done to improve electric reliability for its customers in North Oakland and Berkeley, including the new Kaiser Permanente hospital expansion at Broadway and W. MacArthur Blvd.This photograph was expressly taken to match the scene of an earlier photograph. See: Temescal Substation D c1920