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Substation Subcommittee Update
RUS Oil Spill Prevention Bulletin
The Substation Subcommittee of the NRECA Transmission & Distribution Engineering Committee (T&DEC) has nearly completed an update of RUS Bulletin 1724E-302, "Design Guide for Oil Spill Prevention and Control at Substations" [large PDF]. The revisions will reflect recently revised EPA regulations. Jim Stine, NRECA senior environmental manager, is assisting the subcommittee on the rewrite.
The Substation Subcommittee is a relatively small group (see the Substation Subcommittee roster) which considers issues stemming from transmission and distribution substations and their major components. Other projects the subcommittee is working on include a catalog of alternative substation designs and a power transformer wetness-testing guide.
Visit Cooperative.com for more information on the T&DEC Substation Subcommittee. You can also contact Mike Pehosh at michael.pehosh@nreca.coop or the subcommittee chairman, Dan Geiger, at dgeiger@chaskamn.com, regarding committee activities or if you're interested in joining this dedicated group of substation engineers.
Lights On: FEMA Contracting Requirements Web Conference
July 11, 2007
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET
 The “Lights On: FEMA Contracting Requirements Web Conference” will provide co-ops with training on FEMA’s Public Assistance Program. NRECA experts and FEMA Public Assistance Chief James Walke will dispel conflicting information regarding FEMA reimbursements, explain effective third-party contracting procedures, and provide tools to help prepare your co-op before a disaster strikes. Highlights include:
- A better understanding of FEMA requirements so your co-op can better document how it does business in accordance with FEMA rules and regulations
- What FEMA looks for in the contracting process when it assesses how much to reimburse
- Tools to help prepare your co-op before a disaster strikes
- Resources to minimize headaches with respect to reimbursement
- An introduction to the FEMA natural disaster recovery guidebook for electric co-ops
The fee is $90. To register and for more information, visit Cooperative.com.
Communicate With Your Peers Through the Listserv
 Do you have a problem and want to know how other co-ops are dealing with it? Send a message on the E&O Listserv, and you’ll be in contact with over 500 of your colleagues from across the country. Chances are someone else has had a similar experience and is wiling to guide you to the solution. The E&O Listserv is only open to members of the E&O Professional Community — no vendors, no accountants, no member services people, just E&O professionals like you. See which Listservs you are eligible for and sign up today. You can also view past discussions and customize the way you receive the messages.
Recent topics include:
- Customer Fault Current Requests
- Ferroresonance
- Joint Use Agreements
- Line Extension Policy
- Meter Pole Specs
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NEETRAC Reports Available on Cooperative.com
 The National Electric Energy Testing and Research Applications Center (NEETRAC) is a national collaborative comprised of electrical utilities, telecommunications companies, manufacturers and educators founded to conduct world-class testing and research for the electric utility industry. Visit Cooperative.com for a full description.
NEETRAC reports that previously were only available to CRN members are now located on Cooperative.com and are available to all NRECA members. The NEETRAC-based project manager uses technical advisors from each project’s funders to oversee the work. If you are interested in serving as a technical advisor for NRECA-funded projects, please contact Mike Pehosh at michael.pehosh@nreca.coop or at 703-907-5862.
You can find the reports in the Professional Resources area of the E&O Community. Reports are listed by research area. The following reports may be especially interesting for cooperatives:
Stray Voltage, Concerns, Analysis and Mitigation
This handbook provides a comprehensive resource for the co-op engineer to understand the sources of stray voltages, their effects on animals and humans, techniques for field measurement and investigation procedures, and the mitigation strategies and equipment available. Four actual case studies, provided by NEETRAC members, are also included to illustrate mitigation solutions through computer models for dairy farms, residential subdivisions, boat docks and parallel transmission lines.
Distribution Ground Fault Impedance Scoping Study
This report describes the results from the literature search, and the surveys done in this report show that the so-called 40 ohm rule is not accurate. The survey of utilities found that the values of ground fault impedance are usually very low (less than 5 ohms) or very high (greater than 80 ohms), depending on the field conditions. Utilities may choose an appropriate value, depending on their system design criteria.
Interesting Information Added to Cooperative.com
 I have recently added some documents on Cooperative.com that may be of interest:
Hard to Find Information About Distribution Systems (Volume 1). This is Jim Burke’s compilation of odd and interesting information he has obtained over the years. Those of you who are on his e-mail list have received numerous copies of this. Now you don’t have to be on his list to see the latest version.
Hard to Find Information About Distribution Systems (Volume 2). This includes information on stray voltage, reliability, DG, etc.
Downed Power Lines: Why They Can't Always Be Detected. This reprint of a 1989 IEEE paper may be old, but the information is still relevant. Note: This is one of the references in the NEETRAC Distribution Ground Fault Impedance Scoping Study report described above.
GridWeek Promo. This video was developed for the GridWeek Conference and dramatically represents the modern electric grid.
Also, I’ve run across a video called "The Bird on the Wire" that depicts a line worker doing live line work on a high voltage transmission line.
If you have any items that you think would be of interest to be posted on the E&O Community, let me know at robert.saint@nreca.coop. |
