Puget Sound Energy has completed a $7.5 million upgrade of the utility’s Factoria substation, 12806 SE 32nd St. in Bellevue. The rebuilt substation will improve electric system reliability and increase capacity in the Factoria and Woodridge areas of Bellevue.

“Rebuilding the 50-year-old Factoria substation is an important investment in our energy delivery infrastructure to increase reliability and meet future customer needs in Bellevue,” said Sue McLain, senior vice president of Operations for PSE. “Factoria substation is one of four new or upgraded infrastructure system projects in Bellevue in recent years.”

The others included a $3 million upgrade to Bridle Trails substation, a $3.5 million upgrade to Center substation, a $6.6 million upgrade to Lochleven substation, and the new $18 million Bellevue Braids – Lake Hills Connector natural gas line, according to PSE.

Work on the Factoria substation, which began in June 2008, included demolishing the existing substation, installing new 115 kilovolt circuit breakers to provide more reliability, replacing the current 25 megavolt amperes (MVA) transformer with a newer more efficient model, and adding a second 25 MVA transformer to double the capacity.