CHA Consulting wins ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence Award

Boston, MA The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA) has named CHA Consulting, Inc.  as a winner of a 2017 Bronze Engineering Excellence Awards for work on the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Tilson Substation project.

The 2017 Engineering Excellence Awards were named at the recent ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence and Awards Gala with emcees Carol Gladstone, commissioner of the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance and commissioner Leo Roy of the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

CHA Consulting developed a transmission-level substation at the UMass.–Amherst in only 18 months. The campus’s system was connected to a nearby transmission system to improve service and alleviate strain on the local utility. The $30 million initiative installed a new substation with two independent power distribution centers and extended transmission lines to serve it. The project was made as invisible as possible by siting the substation in a remote corner of campus and performing the cut-over during off hours.

Technically and economically disconnecting the campus has enhanced reliability, strengthened resiliency and unburdened the local distribution system.

“The winning projects exemplify ingenuity and professionalism and represent the breadth of engineering’s contribution to our everyday lives,” said ACEC/MA president Mark Bartlett PE, senior associate at Stantec, Inc. 

“They are outstanding examples of how engineers connect communities, provide safe and reliable water and energy, and make our buildings safe and efficient. The professional engineers and their colleagues at our member firms are dedicated to working on quality infrastructure, which wouldn’t otherwise exist. These outstanding projects are but a few examples of the quality work designed by Massachusetts engineering firms."