Two unidentified New York Power Authority workers man a switchyard in Massena that will get a $110 million upgrade by 2019. Photo submitted by NYPA.

MASSENA -- A switchyard at the St. Lawrence-Roosevelt power project is getting computer-based remote controls and automated data-gathering smartgrid upgrades, according to the New York Power Authority.

The switchyard automated monitoring and controls (SAMAC) features make it possible for any potential problems to be anticipated or mitigated before there are any equipment failures, NYPA said.

The work is part of a Transmission Life Extension and Modernization (TLEM) state program with a $726 million price tag that NYPA is implementing in Northern, Western and Central New York.

The Robert Moses switchyard is getting $110 million in work. That job began last year and should finish by 2019, NYPA said.

The system being installed at the Robert Moses switchyard includes microprocessors that adapt to changing conditions. Real-time information goes to other switchyard components and St. Lawrence operators, for what a NYPA statement calls “precision monitoring and control of electricity transmission.”

“Computer-based remote control and automated data gathering on power system conditions have become important new utility industry tools,” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO.

At the Moses switchyard and substation, power voltages are raised in order to transmit St. Lawrence-FDR generating output.

NYPA is adding what it calls “sophisticated electronic devices and associated software to provide operators with more control of switches and other equipment to dispatch the hydroelectric plant’s power.”

A short video about how SAMAC works is at https://youtu.be/9k4HwTUS69o.

The smart-grid measures are about 15 percent complete. NYPA officials expect them to be completed by 2023.