ELMIRA, NY (WENY) -- The New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG) held a reopening event for their newly renovated Hillcrest substation in Elmira on Friday, March 7. NYSEG said the renovated substation should provide more reliable service to Elmira city residents and beyond.

“Investments in our grid are a top priority at NYSEG because they make a real difference in reliability for our customers and resiliency against the increasingly severe and frequent storms we experience in Upstate New York,” said President and CEO of NYSEG Patricia Nilsen.

The newly reopened substation is the result of a $16 million renovation project, part of Avangrid's more than $7 billion investment in New York. This project is set to rebuild substations and transmission lines throughout New York State through 2030.

NYSEG says the Hillcrest substation serves people across the greater Twin Tiers area, and directly impacts 2,300 customers in Elmira. Notable customers are the Arnot Ogden Medical Center and the Elmira Correctional Facility.

NYSEG officials said this new substation should provide better service for customers in the area, especially during times of severe weather.

“This project will reduce the number of outages and the duration of outages that do occur for customers," Nilsen said. Adding, "As well as increasing capacity for development in this neighborhood.”

This sentiment was reiterated at Friday's event by Dennis Kuhn, the Senior Director of Operations at NYSEG.

"We've increased the capacity here so we can serve more homes and businesses and we're ready for more development in this area," Kuhn said, noting that the old equipment hasn't been updated in 60 years.

Kuhn also said the new substation will not affect customers' energy bills. He did say, however, there will be a positive effect on the company's reliability, and the service customers receive.