substation

[ suhb-stey-shuhn ]

noun

1. a branch of a main post office.
2. an auxiliary power station where electrical current is converted, as from AC to DC, voltage is stepped up or down, etc.

substation

/ ˈsʌbˌsteɪʃən /

noun

1. a subsidiary station
2. an installation at which electricity is received from one or more power stations for conversion from alternating to direct current, reducing the voltage, or switching before distribution by a low-tension network

Word History and Origins

Origin of substation¹

First recorded in 1885–90; sub- + station

Example Sentences

The most significant damage was to the company’s transmission lines, which carry the electricity from the power plants to local substations.

From Washington Post

The damage to substations could also be significant, with flooding being the most likely cause, he said.

From Washington Post

Borlaug and his colleagues modeled substation requirements using data from real-world diesel delivery fleets.

From MIT Technology Review

That would mean the government would have to buy out SDG&E’s massive system of poles and wires and substations in order to take over.

From Voice of San Diego

We monitor the electrical connections between substations and other operating companies to control the electrical grid throughout Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and the District.

From Washington Blade

One of the items published by Parastoo was a blueprint for a substation at a proposed nuclear plant in South Carolina.

From The Daily Beast

There are also reports that there was at least one substation explosion in the Greenwich Village area.

From The Daily Beast

These earth-return cables are connected in series with special low-voltage dynamos (called negative boosters) at the substation.

From Project Gutenberg

The postmark is that of the substation in the city which is nearest to a certain political headquarters on Fourteenth Street.

From Project Gutenberg

A train of our ether waves accidently fell into parallelism with a train of waves from the Venus Substation.

From Project Gutenberg

"Then they'll show up at the substation again four or five days behind us," the Commissioner said.

From Project Gutenberg

So could the fact that they had constructed the substation for it—in itself a grave breach of Federation treaties.

From Project Gutenberg