While being the leadoff hitter often garners a lot of attention, batting in the middle of the lineup is just fine with Georgia Transmission. Our position in the heart of the order allows us to provide the critical link between power generation and delivery for millions of homes, schools and businesses.

A recent example of our work is the modification of a substation at Cobb Galleria, near the Atlanta Braves new ballpark and mixed-use development. Lighting up SunTrust Park and The Battery Atlanta requires partners from across Georgia’s energy grid. Georgia Transmission builds and maintains high-voltage transmission lines and substations that carry electricity from power plants to plugs. When plans for the new stadium were underway, Georgia Transmission was asked to modify one of our existing substations to support increased energy needs for the ballpark and the Cobb Galleria economic hub.

As substation modifications go, Georgia Transmission’s team recognized immediately that this project was definitely a curveball. The area was congested, the project was on a tight schedule (with no room for error), and other construction in the area required heightened attention to safety.

To face the challenges, Georgia Transmission brought in its All-Star team — the Substation Design group. 14-year veteran Larra Stansbury stepped up to the plate and led her team in creating a design that was strategic, effective and safe.

“We reinforced the property in the back. We brought in a transformer through the congested area, and we set up a control house,” Larra said. “To reinforce the area, we built a retaining wall on the backside of the property. To take it a step further, we installed special fencing around the substation to prevent people from coming too close to the surrounding area and a non-permeable fence on top of the reinforcing wall, so no one could access the substation.”

Larra admits it was the most challenging project of her career.

“It’s the main feed for the Atlanta Braves stadium, and we were on a very short deadline,” she said. “The land was so tight, and the area was so congested. To be completely honest, we didn’t know how we were going to do it.”

“But in the end, I believe we hit a home run.”