Commissioning Process for New Substation …

1 THE Commissioning Process FOR NEW Substation EQUIPMENT & PROTECTION SCHEMES ON THE BULK ELECTRIC SYSTEM Lawrence P. Hayes FirstEnergy Corp. ABSTRACT This paper discusses the various aspects, considerations, and technical requirements involved in Commissioning new Substation equipment and protection schemes installed on the Bulk Electric System (BES). The current highly regulated environment in which utilities operate call for a very dedicated and precise Commissioning Process . This mostly pertains to the addition or modification of protection schemes, especially those schemes associated with interconnected facilities. Utilities today are more and more likely to use vendors for engineering, construction, wiring, and testing.

2 This mix of vendors interacting with the internal workforce often produces a climate of uncertainty when it comes to insuring the integrity of the new installation. It is imperative that each utility company designs a Commissioning Process that addresses these potentially volatile situations. INTRODUCTION The importance of a well thought out and executed Commissioning Process cannot be overstated given the current environment in which electric utilities operate. Competition among energy producing entities, increased scrutiny from state utility boards, more restrictive operating regulations and pressure from consumers have driven utility companies from a traditional cost plus profit mentality into a more dynamic market driven reality.

3 This new reality relies heavily on assigning tasks on a strict performance basis which has driven some traditional utility based work into various non-utility industries. Core functions such as engineering, construction, operations and testing are often being supplemented and sometimes even replaced with non-utility vendors in all facets of utility operations. This scenario is becoming more common among utilities often forcing the affected field supervision to deal with a coordination nightmare. Many utilities commission new Substation equipment and protection schemes in much the same way as they did before all the sweeping changes of the last twenty five years began to take hold. The Commissioning Process was often performed locally by long trusted utility employees from a variety of different departments representing the required range of disciplines.

4 Relay technicians, for example, were usually well-seasoned and enjoyed years of training and exposure to the same basic types of electromechanical relays and protection schemes. In many cases, the design engineer was more involved with the entire construction Process including the cut in of new equipment or devices. Local supervision, and possibly the design engineer, knew all the employees involved and trusted their experience and judgment. Companies were smaller, more static, and possessed far more technical depth in almost all departments and/or disciplines thus facilitating success with the more local Commissioning Process . The Commissioning Process of twenty five years ago is not an effective method of placing Substation equipment and protection schemes in service today.

5 Most utility companies are currently larger and more dynamic but employee far less people. Through the period, cost cutting efforts resulted in numerous layoffs, reduced hiring, re-training, re-deployments, and early retirement offerings that vastly depleted the work force and drastically affected the depth of knowledge they possessed. The result is that vendors are involved in most of the capital projects to some degree varying from performing a simple service to performing a complete turn key job. Other factors also influence the Commissioning practices of today such as; the introduction of an array of microprocessor based devices, more restrictive regulatory requirements and advanced outage scheduling. These factors made it essential for FirstEnergy to develop an effective Commissioning Process that is designed to address all the current challenges and that can quickly adapt to any new emergent issues.

6 BACKGROUND FirstEnergy is an electric utility that serves more than six million customers in a 67,000 square mile area in stretching across Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, Virginia, and West Virginia. The company is based in Akron, OH and has annual revenues of about 16 Billion dollars with over 17,000 employees. FirstEnergy has over 24,000 MW of generation capacity, almost 20,000 miles of transmission lines and operates ten electric distribution utilities. The present company was formed as the result of three mergers beginning with 1997 merger between Ohio Edison and its subsidiary Pennsylvania Power with Centerior Energy to form the original FirstEnergy. In 2001, FirstEnergy merged with GPU Energy and in 2011 FirstEnergy merged with Allegheny Energy.

7 The rapid merging of companies within a fourteen year period has also meant the rapid integration of cultures, systems, and practices. One of the main drivers for companies to merge is to insure their survival through improved efficiency by taking advantage of the economies of scale offered by a larger combined company. Cost savings are often derived through the synergies of combining upper level management, various corporate functions, and certain central support services. Regional management, however, is far less affected since most of these activities involve the actual construction, maintenance, and operation of the electric system. Operating in this culture often means dealing with a reduced professional, support, and production staff especially when it comes to construction activities.

8 Priority is usually given to operational and maintenance activities since they often directly affect system reliability, and therefore may require more immediate attention. It is within this environment that FirstEnergy operates, and therefore has designed a Commissioning Process to ensure that all applicable standards, policies, and guidelines are met. THE Commissioning Process All new, replaced, or modified equipment and protection schemes installed in FirstEnergy substations must be properly commissioned before being placed in service. Commissioning services for equipment rated equal to, or greater than 100 kV, and the protection schemes that directly affect equipment rated equal to, or greater than 100 kV are performed by a corporate engineering department.

9 Additionally, complete modular distribution Substation configurations for all voltages (Mod Subs) are also included, since they contain a power transformer, not to mention all the elements of a complete Substation in a smaller modular footprint. Mod Subs can be incorporated into an existing sub or used as a stand alone sub. Finally, all power transformers greater than MVA and all portable substations require Commissioning by the corporate engineering group. All other Commissioning services are performed locally by the appropriate regional Substation services department. The regional Substation services department can request Commissioning by the corporate engineering department, however this corporate support is not required and is contingent on personnel availability.

10 Commissioning is required for each of the following circumstances: Installing new electrical equipment Installing new protection schemes Electrical equipment additions or replacements Protection scheme additions or replacements Electrical equipment modifications Protection scheme modifications Mod Subs (All voltages) Power Transformers (greater than MVA) Portable substations (all voltages) The FirstEnergy BES (Bulk Electric System) Commissioning Process is administered by a corporate function named Energy Delivery Substation Maintenance (EDSM). This group is managed at the corporate headquarters in Akron, OH and has multiple subgroups that provide direct Commissioning services to the local operating regions within each of the electric distribution companies.