Orange & Rockland Utilities (O&R) announced a major $315 million investment into its energy infrastructure ahead of the summer season, including several key projects throughout Rockland County aimed at improving reliability, increasing capacity, and strengthening the electric grid against extreme heat and severe weather.

Among the largest local projects highlighted by the utility company is a $4.8 million upgrade at the Monsey substation, where crews recently completed a transformer upgrade designed to meet the area’s growing electric demand and improve service reliability for residents and businesses throughout the region.

Additional Rockland County improvements include a massive $57.8 million underground transmission project currently underway in Clarkstown. The project includes the installation of approximately 5.7 miles of new underground transmission lines connecting the Burns substation to the West Nyack substation and is expected to be completed in early 2027.

In nearby Orangeburg, O&R recently completed a $24 million initiative replacing two transformers at the Corporate Drive substation, allowing the company to better handle increasing electric demand in the area.

The utility company says the investments are part of a broader long-term effort to modernize and harden the electric grid throughout the Hudson Valley as demand continues to rise during hotter summers and more frequent storms. According to O&R, the company has invested more than $2 billion into the grid since 2016, reducing the number of customers impacted per service interruption by approximately 15 percent.

“Orange & Rockland powers the life of the Hudson Valley, serving nearly one million people across homes, businesses, hospitals, and schools,” said Michele O’Connell, President and CEO of O&R. “The energy needs of our customers are changing rapidly, especially as demand continues to rise as summers grow hotter. O&R is proud of our record investments, allowing us to modernize our system to deliver cleaner energy, greater resilience, and reliable service—today and for decades to come.”

O&R also announced that crews are continuing extensive tree-trimming and hazard tree removal operations throughout the service territory to help prevent outages caused by falling branches and storm damage. The company exceeded its hazard tree removal goals last year by 10 percent and plans to remove approximately 2,200 hazard trees this year alone.

The utility is additionally expanding its smart-grid technology by installing nearly 80 new remote-operated devices this summer, helping reduce outage sizes and improve restoration times during emergencies.

O&R also outlined several customer affordability initiatives, including expanded energy assistance programs, payment plans, energy-saving rebates, and cooling assistance benefits for qualifying households ahead of the high-demand summer season.