UNH Electrical Distribution System
UNH owns most of the wires, poles, and underground conduits that comprise our electrical distribution system. That self-ownership will prove to be a big advantage to UNH as the electric industry is deregulated. Many communities and institutions are attempting to purchase their "wires and poles" as deregulation approaches, but UNH is already ahead of the game on that issue!
Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) is our electric utility company. There are three points at which our system receives electricity from PSNH's 34,500 volt transmission lines. The majority of campus is served by a connection behind the railroad trestle on Water Works Road. Another connection point is located at the rear of A-Lot, and the third is across main street from the Transportation Garage.
Most of our electricity is distributed around campus at about 4,000 volts. As campus electric loads continue to grow, we have begun to distribute some areas at 34,500 volts. Transformers at each building drop the distribution voltages down to the levels required for electrical equipment within the building.
Our electrical distribution system includes several hundred electric meters in campus buildings that are read each month, so that we can track electricity consumption on a per building basis.
We generate a small portion of our own electricity during the winter with a steam driven generator located in the Central Heating Plant.
