Power Grid International July 2013

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    YOUR POWER DELIVERY MEDIA SOURCE

    T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C A T I O N O F

    Prepare for Disasters More Effciently

    18 Tallahassees Single Smart Grid Platform

    26 Asset Management: Data, Analysis and Decisions

    31 GIS Data From the Cloud to the Field

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  • In the network of possibilities, knowledge really is power.

    And AT&T SmartGrid Solutions provide real-time grid monitoring

    for unprecedented control and efficiency. From the meters

    to the wireless network to the data analytics, AT&T is the only

    communications provider delivering complete smart grid

    management solutions. So you can focus your energy where

    its needed mostmanaging your power grid.

    Learn what AT&T Smart Grid Solutions can do for you at

    att.com/smartergrid

    InInInInInInInInIn the network of possibilities, knowledge really is power.

    AnAnd AT&T SmartGrid Solutions provide real-time grid monitoring

    for unprecedented control and efficiency. From the meters

    to the wireless network to the data analytics, AT&T is the only

    communications provider delivering complete smart grid

    management solutions. So you can focus your energy where

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    Learn what AT&T Smart Grid Solutions can do for you at

    att.com/smartergrid

    IIIII

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    Smart is a wireless network that improves your wired grid.

    Go to http://pgi.hotims.com for more information.

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  • Nathan Bingham

    Distribution Services Business Unit Director

    POWER Engineers, Power Delivery

    From traditional poles and wires services

    to assessing, designing and installing

    next generation technologies, Nathan

    Bingham and his team at POWER

    Engineers have the resources,

    experience and expertise you need

    to make all your distribution goals.

    Scan code with your smart phone or visit

    POWERENG.COM/DISTRIBUTION10

    RECRUIT POWER FOR ALL

    YOUR DISTRIBUTION NEEDS.

    CLICK: POWERENG.COM/DISTRIBUTION10

    EMAIL: Nathan Bingham at [email protected]

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  • PowerGrid International: ISSN 1547-6723,

    is published 12 times per year (January,

    February, March, April, May, June, July, August,

    September, October, November and December)

    by PennWell Corp., 1421 S. Sheridan Rd., Tulsa

    OK 74112; phone 918.835.3161. Copyright

    2013 by PennWell Corp. (Registered in U.S.

    Patent Trademark Office). All rights reserved.

    Authorization to photocopy items for internal

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    International: ISSN 1085-2328, provided that

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    tocopying items for educational classroom use,

    please contact Copyright Clearance Center,

    222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923 USA,

    508.750.8400. Distributed to executives and

    engineers in electric, water/wastewater and

    gas utilities and pipeline companies around the

    world. Periodicals Postage Paid at Tulsa, OK

    and additional mailing offices. Subscription: $85

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    2 | July 2013www.power-grid.com

    14

    18 Combining Utility Efforts for a Single Smart Grid PlatformBrian Halcomb with Honeywell Smart Grid Solutions writes on the benefits the city of Tallahassee, Fla., gained by integrating multiple utilities in a single shared architecture. The utility increased meter-reading efficiency, improved meter-reading reliability, enhanced customer service, reduced fleet costs and lowered labor costs.

    22 Benchmarking Results: T&D Crew Size and Equipment AnalysisTim Szybalski of First Quartile Consulting writes on why benchmarking comparisons are worth exploring for an individual company, and the many factors that go into determining the right size crew: safety requirements, equipment, union rules, skill sets, use of apprentices, role of working crew leaders, job mix and travel distances.

    26 Asset Management Data, Analysis and DecisionsDon Angell, Tony McGrail and Kenneth R. Elkinson, with Doble Engineering Co., reveal the value of applying formal asset management principles in the electric power industry. This approach enables the institutionalization of asset management best practices and consistent outcomes in this era of aging work force and ever-greater demands on the assets.

    34 Products

    35 Calendar/Ad Index

    36 From the Pages of Electricity History

    From the Editor 2

    Notes 6

    JULY 2013 VOLUME 18.07

    31 Next in GIS in the Field and in the CloudJason Brewington of Schneider Electric describes a new GIS system that can provide a map of all assets, along with real-time updates on statuses and conditions. The information it provides isnt useful, however, if it can be accessed only by an office worker on a computer. Brewington describes how to make information available to field crews working on day-to-day network operations or responding to outage events.

    Utilities can Prepare for Disasters More Efficiently

    Ron Brown of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP describes the recent surges in severe weather and the increased frequency of cyberattacks

    that have clarified two points: electric utilities no longer can afford a short-term approach to

    business continuity and disaster recovery and they should be better prepared for

    unexpected disruptions.

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  • Engineering Services for the Intelligent GridSEL Engineering Services provides a wide range of engineering, procurement, and construction

    management capabilities. We deliver complete turnkey solutions to make electric power safer,

    more reliable, and more economical. Learn more about SEL Engineering Services, a division of

    Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, at www.selinc.com/7pgi.

    Go to http://pgi.hotims.com for more information.

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  • EDITOR IN CHIEF Teresa Hansen

    918.831.9504 [email protected]

    SENIOR EDITOR Kristen Wright

    918.831.9177 [email protected]

    ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jennifer Van Burkleo

    918.832.9269 [email protected]

    ONLINE/ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jeff Postelwait

    918.831.9114 [email protected]

    GRAPHIC DESIGNER Deanna Taylor

    918.832.9378 [email protected]

    BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR Angie ODea

    918.831.9431 [email protected]

    CIRCULATION MANAGER June Griffin

    918.832.9254 [email protected]

    SUBSCRIBER SERVICE P.O. Box 3264, Northbrook, IL 63264

    phone 847.559.7501 fax 847.291.4816 [email protected]

    SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, NORTH AMERICAN POWER GENERATION GROUP

    Richard Baker 918.831.9187 [email protected]

    PENNWELL CORP. IN EUROPE PennWell International Limited

    The Water Tower, Gunpowder Mill Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1BN, United Kingdom

    phone +44.1992.656600 fax +44.1992.656700

    [email protected]

    CHAIRMAN Frank Lauinger

    PRESIDENT/CEO Robert F. Biolchini

    SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION (CFO)

    Mark C. Wilmoth

    1421 S. Sheridan Road, Tulsa, OK 74112 PO Box 1260, Tulsa OK 74101

    Phone 918.835.3161 Fax 918.831.9834 [email protected] http://pennwell.com

    POWERGRID International is the offcial publication of

    4 | July 2013www.power-grid.com

    EDITOR IN CHIEF TERESA HANSEN

    FROM THE EDITOR

    Get Ready for Industry Changes

    The electric utility industry is changing quickly. President Barak Obama

    made it clear in his speech on June 25 that if Congress doesnt regulate

    carbon dioxide emissions from power plants through a federal energy

    policy, he will continue to push the Environmental Protection Agency

    (EPA) to do so. The plan Obama laid out in his speech shouldnt be a

    surprise to anyone who follows current energy policy, politics or both.

    Since he took office, Obama has pushed to reduce the use of coal-fired

    electricity generation and increase the use of green technologies,

    including more renewable energy generation.

    Although much of Obamas recent speech focused on electricity

    generators, transmission and distribution companies are impacted by his

    plan, too. The grid must be prepared to deal with the changing generation

    mix. A report from Navigant Research described on page 6 indicates

    Obamas vision of more renewable energy is accurate. Navigant predicts

    the global generation mix will become more diversified and decentralized

    in 2013.

    Some states regulators, customers and lawmakers also want change in

    the electric utility industry. They believe disruptive weather events are

    more frequent and extreme and that utilities are ill-prepared to deal with

    such events. Some utilities are pressured to improve communications with

    customers and decrease outage duration during weather-related events.

    In the feature beginning on page 14, Utilities can Prepare for Disasters

    More Efficiently, Ron Brown of Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP writes that

    risk-based business continuity and disaster recovery can improve utilities

    performance when disaster strikes.

    Another story on page 6 reports that Newton-Evans Research Co.s

    latest T&D investment study reveals that utilities are increasing their

    2013 capital spending significantly on energy management systems,

    SCADA and outage management systems; another indication that disaster

    preparedness and efficient grid operations are priorities for T&D utilities.

    Other articles in this issue describe a benchmark study on T&D crew

    size, how effective asset monitoring helps ensure asset health, the city

    of Tallahassees combined metering infrastructure and how moving GIS

    technology to the cloud can improve field and IT operations. These are

    important in meeting future political, regulatory and customer demands.

    Another interesting short item in From the Pages of Electricity History

    reveals that in 1999 the U.S. Court of Appeals - D.C. Circuit ruled the

    EPA could not regulate ozone particulates because certain issues are

    too important for Congress to delegate to administrative agencies, more

    evidence of how much the industry is changing.

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  • NOTES

    6 | July 2013www.power-grid.com

    NEWTON-EVANS STUDY: 43 PERCENT OF UTILITIES PLAN

    TO INCREASE 2013 CAPEX ON EMS/SCADA/OMS

    reason for increases in 2013 Capex.

    Seventy-one percent of responding

    utilities said they plan to start a new

    smart grid project in the upcoming two

    years, and 59 percent of those projects

    will include some form of distribution

    automation.

    The new 2013 edition will include

    information about relative market trends

    and market size estimates for major

    smart grid building blocks.

    The Newton-Evans Research Co.

    released preliminary findings from

    Global CAPEX and O&M Expenditure

    Outlook for Electric Power T&D

    Investments: 2013-2014 Funding

    Outlook for Smart Grid Development,

    its fifth study in the multiyear tracking

    research program that looks into elec-

    tric power utility capital expenditure

    (Capex) budgets related to smart grid

    investments and infrastructure spending

    plans.

    Early findings from utilities in 24

    countries that participated in the study

    of electric power transmission and distri-

    bution investment indicate that 43 per-

    cent of utilities plan to increase Capex

    for 2013 on enegy management systems

    (EMS), SCADA and outage management

    systems (OMS). Half plan on increas-

    ing Capex in 2013 for protection and

    control, and 55 percent plan on increas-

    ing transmission infrastructure Capex.

    Automatic meter reading (AMR) and

    advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)

    seem to be leveling out; 63 percent of

    respondents so far said there will be no

    change from 2012 spending on this.

    Operations and maintenance (O&M)

    budgets for 2013 reflect a somewhat

    different story. Most categories of O&M

    spending were less likely to see an

    increase from the budgets of 2012.

    More than half (58 percent) of the

    utilities that responded so far indicated

    that regulatory mandates are the reason

    for Capex increases in 2013. Only 13

    percent cited government stimulus as a

    SMART GRID AND INFRASTRUCTURE 2012-2013 2012-2013 2012-2013

    CATEGORY INCREASE DECREASE NO CHANGE

    SCADA/EMS/OMS 43% 20% 37%

    Substation A&I 44% 19% 36%

    Protection and Control 50% 11% 39%

    Distribution Automation 29% 18% 54%

    AMR/AMI 33% 3% 63%

    Transmission Infrastructure 55% 6% 39%

    Distribution Infrastructure 48% 7% 45%

    Cybersecurity: Operations 55% 9% 47%

    Cybersecurity: Enterprise 38% 3% 59%

    COMPARISON OF 2013 PLANNED CAPEX

    INVESTMENT FOR SMART GRID PROGRAMS

    NAVIGANT: 2013 PIVOTAL IN TRANSITION TO MORE DIVERSIFIED ENERGY MIX

    The white paper, Smart Energy:

    Five Metatrends to Watch in 2013 and

    Beyond, outlines key trends that affect the

    development of smart energy industries

    worldwide, the specific market impacts of

    these trends in 2013, and the longer-term

    impact of these emerging developments.

    The full white paper

    is available for free

    download on the

    Navigant Research

    website.

    The smart energy sector is evolving

    rapidly, expanding from a collection of

    niche markets into a standardized part of

    the global energy portfolio.

    Small, distributed generation

    technologies such as solar panels, small

    wind turbines and residential combined

    heat and power systems enable people to

    produce and sell their power. As a result,

    new energy sources and advanced energy

    technologies have entered the market and

    are posting revenue. According to a new

    white paper from Navigant Research, part

    of Navigants energy practice, the transition

    to a more diversified and decentralized

    energy mix will be a key trend for the

    global energy industry in 2013.

    The white paper identifies five emerging

    metatrends that will have an increasing

    impact in 2013 and beyond. These include:

    Increasingly democratized energy.

    Changing role of government

    innovation funds.

    Converging technologies.

    Transitioning of the Southern African

    Power Pool to the new Brazil, Russia,

    India and China (BRIC).

    Changing role of utilities.

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    Only Itron.

    knowledge to shape your future

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  • NOTES

    EYE ON THE WORLD

    Ofgems Low Carbon Networks Fund, which has given

    us the opportunity to work with four of the U.K.s electric-

    ity distribution companies to find novel and affordable

    solutions to help them bring about a low-carbon elec-

    tricity future for consumers.

    Smarter Grid Solutions creates and delivers real-

    time grid management software to help electricity

    distribution companies manage local, regional and

    national electricity grid congestion issues and cope

    with increasing volumes of low-carbon generation and

    demand. The technology frees up capacity in the exist-

    ing electricity grid so electricity companies can avoid

    or defer building new grid infrastructure. The result is a

    faster and cheaper solution to connecting distributed

    generation, such as wind turbines or small hydro, so

    electricity companies can concentrate on building a

    low-carbon electricity system for their customers.

    The chief executive of Ofgem, the regulatory body

    for the electricity and gas industry in Great Britain,

    recently opened a new head office in Corunna House,

    Cadogan Street in central Glasgow for smart grid tech-

    nology company Smarter

    Grid Solutions.

    The company has

    grown rapidly to become

    one of the U.K.s leading

    dedicated smart grid tech-

    nology companies since

    it was established in 2008. Today, it employs more

    than 35 people, has an office in London and will open

    another in New York in July.

    Were honored that Alistair Buchanan has agreed

    to open our new head office, said Chairman Robert

    Armour. The companys growth has been driven by

    Ofgem chief executive opens new Smarter Grid Solutions HQ in Glasgow

    Network Mapping Pty to provide as-built engineering models to Powerlink, Brisbane

    Sydney-based survey and engineering com-

    pany Network Mapping will aerially survey more

    than 1,000 km of high-voltage transmission

    lines throughout Queensland, Australia, during

    the next six months.

    The aerial surveys will be conducted from heli-

    copters and will use LIDAR, which is designed to

    produce detailed 3-D PLS-CADD models.

    The surveys are being undertaken for

    high-voltage electricity company Powerlink

    Queensland.

    The information provided through the 3-D

    models will be used to update Powerlinks

    records and assist in planning to deliver a safe,

    efficient and reliable high-voltage transmission

    supply, said Roland Vitelli, Powerlinks executive

    manager for infrastructure delivery and techni-

    cal services.

    Network Mapping CEO Kevin Jacobs said

    the company looks forward to working with

    Powerlink.

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    Multifunction Power Metering

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    Easy to Read - Substation Grade

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  • POWERING

    SMARTERDECISIONSWhen outages occur, Intergraph gives you the power you need.

    Intergraphs InService software helps you quickly identify the cause of an outage and restore power

    faster than ever before. With integrated outage and mobile workforce management, you can dispatch

    and communicate with fi eld crews, reducing service restoration times by as much as 33 percent.

    Dont get left in the dark. Power smarter decisions.

    WWW.INTERGRAPH.COM/OMS

    2013 Intergraph Corporation. All rights reserved. Intergraph is part of Hexagon. Intergraph and the Intergraph logo

    are registered trademarks of Intergraph Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries.Go to http://pgi.hotims.com for more information.

    1307PG_9 9 7/8/13 1:05 PM

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  • NOTES

    THE DEMAND TO GRID LAB: TESTING AND DEMONSTRATING

    SMART GRID AND CUSTOMER TECHNOLOGIES IN BERKELEY LAB

    Interest Energy Research (PIER) pro-

    gram initially funded the DRRC, man-

    aged by Berkeley Lab. The DRRCs

    research, development and demonstra-

    tion has led to a communications tech-

    nology called Open Automated Demand

    Response Communication Standards

    (OpenADR), which standardizes how

    demand response technologies work

    and interoperate within a smart grid.

    OpenADR helps manufacturers of

    building automation equipment design

    products for smart grid implementa-

    tion and power aggregators incorporate

    demand response into their work, said

    Mary Ann Piette, research director for

    DRRC. OpenADR builds on more than

    10 years of research.

    The initial goal of the OpenADR

    research was to explore the possibil-

    ity of developing a low-cost commu-

    nications infrastructure to improve the

    reliability, repeatability, robustness and

    cost-effectiveness of automated demand

    response. After the formal release of

    OpenADR 1.0 specifications in 2009

    and implementation, the OpenADR

    standards are taking hold in the U.S.

    and around the world:

    Hundreds of sites use OpenADR

    with more than 250 MW of

    At the Lawrence Berkeley National

    Laboratory Guest House, guests who

    have business with Berkeley Lab can get

    a comfortable nights sleep while expe-

    riencing a living example of some of

    the laboratorys scientific research. The

    guest house is one of the demonstration

    sites and the testing site for the Demand

    to Grid (D2G) Lab in the Demand

    Response Research Center (DRRC).

    During the past year, the D2G Lab

    has tested and improved strategies and

    standards for demand-side interoper-

    ability, wired and wireless communi-

    cations, communication architectures,

    devices, and monitoring and controls

    technologies. These strategies and stan-

    dards are part of research that will

    improve the efficiency of the nations

    electric grid and how it responds to

    fluctuations in electricity demand or

    supply.

    RESPONDING TO DEMAND

    Demand response can be manual,

    semiautomated or fully automated,

    depending on the

    market and cus-

    tomer choice. As

    the grid has become

    more complex

    and diverse, stud-

    ies and testing on

    automated demand

    response programs

    have increased. Fully

    automated demand

    response does not

    involve human

    intervention but is

    initiated at a home,

    building or facil-

    ity when an exter-

    nal communications

    signal triggers pre-

    programmed load-

    shedding strategies.

    In 2004, the

    California Energy

    Commissions Public

    DEMONSTRATION AREA SOLUTION PROVIDERS AND VENDORS

    Residential Appliances, Thermostats, Plug-load Meters, HAN Integration, Data Analysis

    GE, CloudBeam, Radio Thermostat, NEST, Itron, SilverSpring

    OpenADR Technologies and Auto-demand Response Systems for End Uses, Strategies

    Akuacom, AutoGrid

    Lighting Controls, Communication and Technologies

    Lunera and NEXT Lighting, CloudBeam

    Electric Vehicle Chargers and Grid Integration Coulomb Technologies, Auto-Grid

    Analytics and Visualization GE, CloudBeam, Akuacom, AutoGrid

    D2G LAB RESIDENTIAL DEMONSTRATION ACTIVITIES 1

    Go to http://pgi.hotims.com for more information.

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  • NOTES

    12 | July 2013www.power-grid.com

    and switch to low-power operations in

    response to demand response signals.

    The guest house also features an

    electric vehicle charger by Coulomb

    Technologies, which switches to lower

    charge levels during demand response

    events. Before and during a demand

    response event, a message is displayed

    on the chargers screen that lets con-

    sumers know what is happening and if

    they have to take any action. All appli-

    ances are pre-programmed to oper-

    ate in a low-power-using mode when

    they receive test signals that emulate a

    demand response event.

    COMMUNICATION

    AND MONITORING

    Smart appliances are one piece of the

    puzzle, but the way information moves

    between consumers and the gridand

    the way it can be viewed and moni-

    toredis the foundation for demand

    response success. The D2G Lab is

    demonstrating and testing communica-

    tion architectures including the Energy

    Service Interface, a generic interface

    between the service provider and the

    customer that can be a smart meter, a

    electricity load automated in

    California.

    OpenADR is in full-scale

    commercial deployment and

    advanced OpenADR pilots are

    underway.

    More than 10 countries are

    reviewing and conducting

    pilot tests to use OpenADR for

    automated demand response.

    The OpenADR Alliance, established

    in 2010 to foster the adoption of

    the OpenADR standard, is growing

    with more than 100 members.

    RESIDENTIAL RESEARCH

    Early in 2011, Berkeley Labs Grid

    Integration Group took the work fur-

    therfrom commercial-industrial

    applications to residential demonstra-

    tion through the D2G Lab at the Guest

    House, said Rish Ghatikar, deputy lead-

    er for the Grid Integration Group.

    Our team has been doing other

    research on commercial and industrial

    facility grid integration and demand

    response and its market transforma-

    tion, Ghatikar said. We decided to

    use the guest house as a residential

    appliance research lab since the infra-

    structure we needed for the set up was

    there.

    Demonstrations include communi-

    cation between many end-use devices

    such as smart appliances, revenue-

    grade smart meters and a home-area

    network (HAN) gateway to receive

    demand response reliability pricing sig-

    nals using OpenADR. Within the dem-

    onstration test bed, wireless and wired

    Internet and in-home protocols and

    standards such as ZigBee Smart Energy

    Profile 1.0 and other proprietary pro-

    tocols are used to interoperate with

    OpenADR and respond with a change

    in energy use.

    The guest house features applianc-

    esheat pump water heater, refrig-

    erator, washer and dryer, loaned by

    General Electrican electric vehicle

    charger, programmable communicating

    thermostats, smart plugs and dimmable

    LED lighting fixtures. All are controlled

    by the HAN using demand response

    signals and with Web-based energy

    visualization tools to provide informa-

    tion on energy choices made during

    demand response events.

    The guest houses heat pump water

    heater is part of the demonstration.

    It has two modes of heating: resistive

    heating where a heating coil heats the

    water for everyday operation, and a

    heat exchanger that is used during

    demand response events. The heater

    uses 4,500 W of electricity during stan-

    dard electric mode and powers down to

    550 W using the heat exchanger during

    demand response events.

    Like the water heater, General

    Electrics other appliancesa washer

    and dryer and a staff refrigerator

    are smart appliances that communicate

    D2G CAPABILITIES PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS, BENEFITS

    Lighting System Control, Energy and Peak Demand

    System energy use, and peak demand; energy savings relative to noncontrolled 1980s retrofit base-case in twin cell

    HVAC Control, Energy and Peak Demand Zonal Load Measurement, Hydronic or Air

    Robust Data Acquisition System to Accommodate Additional Instrumentation

    Flexibility to Integrate Experiment-specific Measurement Hardware With Existing Test Bed Instrumentation

    Demand Response Automation Server and Client Designs

    Client-server Capabilities, Price and Reliability Signals, Latency Testing

    Energy and Demand Response ModelsEnergyPlus and Modelica Tools to Model Control Strategies, HVAC, Lighting and Whole Test Bed Energy Use

    D2G LAB DEMONSTRATIONS AT THE FLEXLAB 2

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  • July 2013 | 13 www.power-grid.com

    gateway or devices in residential set-

    tings, building management systems

    for commercial buildings, and energy

    management and control systems for

    industrial facilities.

    OpenADR signals are used at the

    D2G Lab and can be sent over networks

    and transports (including the Internet)

    from the utility and other entities. Once

    the demand response event signal is

    sent, the appliances and equipment

    respond by changing the power use for

    a short time. Customers can override

    the changes if desired.

    These signals are monitored and

    energy usage information for each end-

    use device is collected. The perfor-

    mance information is stored locally or

    in the cloud and is available from any

    Web browser via computer or smart

    phone.

    INTEGRATION WITH FLEXLAB

    First-year D2G Lab operations have

    demonstrated the goal research areas,

    identified new research and develop-

    ment areas and validated findings and

    conclusions that benefit the wider

    demand response community. In addi-

    tion to continuing existing demonstra-

    tions, the second-year goals include

    conducting new demonstrations that

    provide a suitable grid integration

    research and demonstration frame-

    work for Berkeley Labs new Flexlaba

    research facility opening later in 2013

    to study energy efficiency technologies

    in buildings.

    POWERGRID International magazine

    is accepting nominations for the 2014

    Projects of the Year awards! Nominations

    may be submitted for notable projects

    in four categories: smart grid, renewable

    grid integration, demand response/energy

    efficiency and customer engagement. Two

    finalists will be selected in each cat-

    egory and the winner will be announced,

    at the Electric Light & Power Executive

    Conference Awards Dinner on Jan. 27,

    2014, in San Antonio. Award winners also

    will be recognized during DistribuTECH

    Conference and Exhibitions opening

    keynote on Tuesday, Jan. 28. Additional

    information and nomination forms are

    available at www.power-grid.com.

    Projects of the Year Awards Nominations Open

    Go to http://pgi.hotims.com for more information.

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  • 14 | July 2013www.power-grid.com

    Utilities can Prepare for Disasters More Efficiently

    programs is surprising. PwCs The Global

    State of Information Security Survey 2013

    found that only 52 percent of utilities

    respondents have implemented a BC/DR

    strategy.

    This is particularly troubling, given

    the lessons of Superstorm Sandy and the

    upsurge in cyberattacks.

    If your company were hit by a disaster,

    natural or otherwise, would it be prepared

    to maintain operations and availability

    across the business?

    Utilities should move aggressively from

    a defensive responsive capa-

    bility to a more offen-

    sive, prepared stance

    Recent surges in severe weather and an increased frequency of cyberat-tacks have clarified two points: Electric

    utilities no longer can afford a short-term

    approach to business continuity and disas-

    ter recovery and they should be better

    prepared for unexpected disruptions.

    Consider, for instance, Superstorm

    Sandy. It hammered the mid-Atlantic and

    Northeast in October and left flooding and

    wind damage estimated at $71 billion.

    During the storm, more than 8.51 mil-

    lion homes lost power, according to The

    New York Times.

    At the same time, a new report by com-

    puter security firm Mandiant shows that

    advanced cyberattackers target energy, oil

    and gas companies more frequently than

    any industry except aerospace and defense.

    The Mandiant 2013 Security Report

    found that 14 percent of advanced attacks

    in 2012 targeted energy, oil and gas

    concernsan increase of 40 percent over

    the previous year.

    President Barack Obama in February

    issued an executive order on cybersecu-

    rity that recommends sharing of classified

    information among the government and

    owners and operators of critical infrastruc-

    ture, including utilities.

    Sharing this information might provide

    electric utilities with warning and response

    recommendations for potential attacks or

    attacks in progress. The order is aimed at

    raising awareness of cyberthreats and their

    potential impacts.

    Without a risk-based business continu-

    ity and disaster recovery (BC/DR) program

    to counteract such threats, electric compa-

    nies could be vulnerable.

    The number of companies without

    Ron Brown is a managing director with

    PwCs governance, risk and compliance prac-

    tice. He has more than 25 years experience

    in developing business continuity capabilities

    and delivering management services to help

    clients establish structured and consistent

    programs that improve operational perfor-

    mance and resilience.

    BY RON BROWN, PWC

    C

    AN

    STO

    CK

    PH

    OTO

    IN

    C. /

    DU

    STIE

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  • July 2013 | 15 www.power-grid.com

    These strategies should be approved by

    executive leaders, who set the tone and

    commitment needed for recovery plan

    development and implementation.

    Prior to deployment, plans should be

    exercised and validated to confirm require-

    ments and recovery expectations.

    Even organizations that have performed

    BIAs must be diligent. Severe storms are

    redrawing the lines of safety, and that

    makes it increasingly important to regu-

    larly update the existing BIA.

    Sandy, for instance, flooded areas that

    never had been under water.

    As a result, flood zones have been

    redefined in certain areas, and that might

    dictate a reconsideration of disaster recov-

    ery plans.

    Regular exercising of BC/DR programs is

    equally critical.

    regarding events that can have prolonged

    impact on their ability to generate, trans-

    mit, distribute and provide critical cus-

    tomer and internal business services.

    USING THE BIA TO AVOID RISKS

    Business continuity planning is an

    offensive strategy to reduce recovery

    impacts and costs. BC/DR is risk avoidance.

    Thats why an effective program begins

    with a thorough business impact analysis

    (BIA) that identifies then prioritizes critical

    business functions and supporting capa-

    bilities needed to sustain services during

    unexpected disruptions.

    The BIA together with a risk assessment

    is required to classify unique, critical busi-

    ness threats, determine the likelihood of

    core business disruption, and identify the

    associated cost of loss.

    As such, the BIA must be

    performed with owners of

    individual lines of business.

    The BIA provides an under-

    standing of business-interrup-

    tion risks and impacts and helps

    prioritize recovery needs by iden-

    tifying key business areas that

    require attention and driving

    the appropriate level of consideration so

    business needs are aligned with the BIA

    and are in place to mitigate risk.

    The outcome of the BIA establishes

    requirements for investments in recovery

    capabilities, as well as prioritizes functions

    not commonly identified as critical to utili-

    ties, such as back- and front-office process-

    es that support nonoperational functions.

    After requirements are confirmed, strat-

    egies should be developed to mitigate

    potential business interruptions.

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  • 16 | July 2013www.power-grid.com

    and processes should verify information.

    Most electricity providers prepare only

    for risks they consider likely, such as hur-

    ricanes, winter storms and floods. Given

    todays environment, they also should plan

    for extraordinary but possible threats such

    as cyberattacks and events that provide

    little to no notice. An effective cybersecu-

    rity program dictates an offensive stance

    that requires thinking like potential adver-

    saries. What information do they want?

    Whom would they target? How would

    they infiltrate? Answer these questions and

    seek input from your BIA, which has iden-

    tified your most valuable assets, and craft

    a cyberstrategy to protect them. Ensure

    employees know what they are protecting,

    why they are protecting it and their roles

    in protecting it.

    As cyberthreats multiply and constantly

    evolve, it becomes increasingly difficult

    for an electric utility alone to safeguard

    its data, networks and service-delivery

    capabilities. As Obamas executive order on

    cybersecurity underscores, electric utilities

    potentially have much to gain by collabo-

    rating with government agencies and poli-

    cymakers to share cyberattack information

    and strategies. They also want to be pro-

    tected from privacy lawsuits if they share

    customer information and from negligence

    suits for failing to act on warnings.

    Finally, some electricity providers think

    they can avoid planning for unlikely events

    because they might never happen. Thats

    not a risk worth taking.

    Disaster recovery should be elevated to

    a strategic investment and supported with

    a cost-benefit analysis. Demonstrating, for

    instance, that investing a relatively small

    amount can provide a huge cost savings

    after a disaster can be convincing.

    An effective BC/DR program that embeds

    strategy, processes, technology and security

    into the fabric of an organization might be

    costly but can pay off many times over if

    needed.

    Yet around-the-clock availability require-

    ments often make it difficult for electricity

    providers to perform extensive exercises,

    particularly for plans that address long-

    term interruptions.

    A risk-based approach also dictates that

    critical vendors, suppliers and partners

    participate in BC/DR exercises.

    These third parties also should have

    their own BC/DR plans.

    It might be beneficial for them to have

    an audit of their programs as proof of

    readiness.

    PLANNING BEYOND

    THE FIRST 48 HOURS

    Sandy confirmed power outages can

    endure far longer than 48 hours, yet many

    utilities limit planning and exercising to

    the first two days of an event or less.

    Electricity providers should think

    beyond survival of an interruption and

    develop long-term recovery capabilities

    and planning.

    Most utility emergency plans include

    mutual aid agreements and procedures

    such as recruiting storm response crews

    from other states or regions, develop-

    ing alternative delivery and transmission

    process controls capabilities because of

    technology interruptions, and prioritizing

    critical services to be maintained to sup-

    port safety and health services.

    Mutual aid agreements have existed

    among utilities to mitigate disruption in

    field operations, but there might be oppor-

    tunities to broaden collaborative efforts

    to call center backup and other support

    functions.

    Electricity providers also should prepare

    for incidents that might prevent employees

    from working in corporate facilities. If a

    call center is under water, for instance, it

    will be necessary to plan for employees

    to work at a remote location or leverage a

    service provider. Even with these plans, if

    customer service or outage management

    systems are not operational, recovery

    options might be affected severely.

    As a result, a comprehensive plan and

    approach to conducting exercises are not

    nice to have but are necessary because

    of the complexities and interdependences

    that typically are not uncovered until a

    comprehensive exercise is conducted.

    Beyond planning, electric utilities

    should conduct business continuity exer-

    cises for durations beyond 48 hours and

    publish results internally so all employees

    understand the processes. BC/DR person-

    nel should document processes that failed

    or were inefficient and make sure these

    gaps are remediated. These reports can

    provide lessons that improve the BC/DR

    program and potentially reduce recovery

    costs.

    THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY

    FOR BC/DR, CYBERSECURITY

    BC/DR is not strictly a technology exer-

    cise, but having the right technology is

    important to supporting an effective BC/

    DR program. With the advent of smart

    grid and smart meter technologies, utili-

    ties can gain insights into the location of

    problems. But this increase in knowledge

    can augment reliance and risk in the event

    of disruption. Electric utilities should care-

    fully and broadly consider how new tech-

    nologies are used and incorporated into

    overall BC/DR plans.

    As managers evaluate new technologies,

    they should rethink and embed processes

    that can help streamline disaster recovery

    efforts. These might include mobile

    devices, apps and GPS services to dispatch

    and track power-restoration workers

    more efficiently and streamline damage

    assessment.

    The right technologies also can enable

    employees to work remotely if corporate

    facilities are unavailable. In addition, social

    media can help identify and communicate

    situational issues quickly, but procedures

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  • 18 | July 2013www.power-grid.com

    240V kWh240V kWh

    BY BRIAN HALCOMB, HONEYWELL

    rate strategies to its customers.

    3. Provide utility customers with

    improved access to account informa-

    tion, such as real-time energy usage,

    a review of their historical usage and

    the ability to see how much energy

    they have used during the current

    billing cycle, allowing customers to

    make informed efficiency decisions

    concerning their energy use.

    To empower customers to make smart

    decisions that minimize energy and water

    use and save money, the utility must give

    customers improved control over infor-

    mation about their usage as quickly as

    possiblenot just when the monthly bill

    arrives. Because the municipal utility pro-

    vides three services, it has an opportunity

    to provide that information to custom-

    ersand back to the utility itselfconsid-

    erably more efficiently than had it provided

    only one service.

    SOLUTION

    The project involved developing and

    installing utility metering infrastructure

    s the smart grid continues to devel-

    op, what practical benefits can be

    gained by the integration of multiple utili-

    ties in a single shared architecture?

    The city of Tallahassee in northwestern

    Florida combined its electric, water and

    gas metering into a single technological

    platform as part of its smart metering

    project. The intended benefits include

    improved access to real-time usage infor-

    mation, real-time communication to

    customers, an effective platform for its

    demand response program and the ability

    to offer variable rate strategies to custom-

    ers. The system has provided unprecedent-

    ed access to account information through

    a Web portal, which allows customers to

    make informed efficiency decisions con-

    cerning their energy use and determine

    what aspects are delivering as expected or

    what further development is needed.

    Tallahassee has a population of 182,000.

    Its municipal utility services 87,000 resi-

    dential customers and 14,000 commercial

    customers with electric service. The city

    also serves 26,800 gas customers and

    75,600 water customers with some over-

    lap among the three utilities. This includes

    the city of Tallahassee and a portion of

    Leon, Wakulla and Gadsden counties,

    which provide a mix of rural and urban

    areas. Reading utility meters is a major

    undertaking and has been a manual pro-

    cess in which meter readers have had to

    visit each residence and business monthly.

    The city is completing its smart meter-

    ing project to roll out a single smart grid

    platform for its electric, water and gas utili-

    ties to create real-time communications

    that can enable a number of programs that

    encourage conservation and off-peak usage

    of resources. The program enables the util-

    ity to more effectively roll out creative pric-

    ing programs. For instance, the city has a

    large university population and structured

    a pricing plan specifically for students. It

    supports night and weekend rate plans.

    The program also enables the utility to

    more easily accommodate solar power

    generation by residences and businesses.

    The new infrastructure makes it easier

    for customers to sell excess solar power

    they generate back to the grid. Having all

    three utilities owned by the municipality

    simplifies creating the single infrastructure

    that makes creative programs such as this

    possible and lowers the costs of doing so.

    PROBLEM/OBJECTIVE

    The citys program has three primary

    objectives:

    1. Provide the utility access to real-time

    usage information and communica-

    tion to its customers.

    2. Provide the utility an effective plat-

    form for its demand response pro-

    gram and the ability to offer variable

    Brian Halcomb is a program manager

    with Honeywell Smart Grid Solutions and

    manages the West Florida Branch suite of

    programs for the city of Tallahassee and

    Gulf Power (Pensacola, Fla.). His opera-

    tions and project management experi-

    ence spans 20 years.

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  • Go to http://pgi.hotims.com for more information.

    beyond the city limits into neighboring

    counties and, in some cases, this includes

    other utility service territories. In some of

    these regions, the city provides gas and

    water service while another utility, such

    as Progress Energy, provides the electrical

    service.

    Under the new system, the electric

    and computer systems to automate the

    metering function of all three of the citys

    utilities.

    The project was budgeted for some $40

    million and initially launched in 2007.

    Much of the cost was for the metering sys-

    tems infrastructure, but the overall proj-

    ect included selecting the smart metering

    system, training city employees, installing

    the system infrastructure and installing

    software, including in-home messaging

    for customers.

    There are two main parts of the system:

    advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)

    and the meter data management system

    (MDMS).

    AMI. The AMI includes utility meters

    provided by Elster Electricity, a backhaul

    network to transmit the meter data and a

    central head-end system that collects the

    data.

    The program involves installing some

    213,000 new Elster meters. Each home or

    business has separate water, gas and elec-

    tric meters. The gas and water meters com-

    municate wirelessly to the electric meters.

    Each water and gas meter is identified

    with a unique serial number that prevents

    customers from being accidentally charged

    for a neighbors usage.

    The electric meters track electric usage

    and act as repeaters that accept the data

    from the water and gas meters and trans-

    mit all the data through the network to the

    head end.

    They can transmit data on a regular

    schedule or on demand. Some enable

    the city to connect or disconnect service

    remotely.

    The meters also can link to central

    thermostats or other home automation

    systems and provide digital information

    displays that customers can read.

    There is also a significant direct cost sav-

    ings that comes with replacing independent

    repeaters with the electric smart meters.

    Each independent repeater costs $1,100

    and another $3,500 for installation.

    One added challenge is that the city

    of Tallahassees utility footprint does not

    neatly align with the city itself, and it varies

    depending on the utilities provided.

    In each case, that footprint extends

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  • 20 | July 2013www.power-grid.com

    implementation challenge was process

    change management, including redesign-

    ing existing processes and developing new

    ones.

    Previously, the municipality had three

    parallel processes for water, electrical and

    gas for most aspects of the business. Each

    utility was its own kingdom. The excep-

    tion was that billing was centralized across

    all three utilities with the PeopleSoft sys-

    tem. As a result, beyond simply installing

    new meters, the organization was forced

    to consider common processes to achieve

    the efficiencies it was seeking. This was a

    collaborative process with its technology

    partner, Honeywell.

    For example, customer service sup-

    port was significantly affected by the new

    metering system. Call center staff needed

    to be trained on what new information

    customers had access to to be effective

    in energy efficiency advocacy and sales.

    Customer calls shifted from primarily

    billing disputes to questions concerning

    energy usage. This requires more robust

    communications, situation handling and

    data interpretation skills. Call centers can

    initiate connects and disconnects rather

    than scheduling a service order or truck

    roll.

    There also were impacts to distribu-

    tion field operations personnel, as well, if

    somewhat less significant than those facing

    the call center.

    Most significant was volume, as auto-

    mation significantly decreased the size of

    the team. Personnel shifted from connect

    and disconnect or meter reading to more

    complex tasks, such as grid infrastruc-

    ture device installation and maintenance,

    as well as preventive maintenance. The

    full impact of these changes is still being

    understood.

    Communications to customers was

    another part of the program. Information

    meters transmit the data, so in those homes

    and businesses, the municipality needed a

    different source of electricity.

    In some cases, it chose independent

    repeaters powered by solar panels installed

    on a pole some 10 feet in the air.

    The city reduced the size of the panels

    used from 3.5 feet by 4 feet to 18 inches

    by 2 feet to make them less obtrusive.

    Before the project, these repeaters didnt

    exist. The city and Honeywell designed an

    initial basic solution and Elster Electricity

    refined the design with a model one-third

    the original size.

    Solar power worked only for some loca-

    tions, however, because northern Florida

    is heavily wooded, especially in rural areas.

    To complement the solar approach, the

    city signed an agreement with cable pro-

    vider Comcast Corp. that enabled the

    city to install a cable modem and data

    collection device in cable system power

    supplies.

    This solution was used in nearly half

    the nonelectric service territory. The city

    also had to install 315 backhaul gate-

    keepers. The gatekeepers were integrated

    with cable fiber (270), city fiber (13) and

    wireless (32) backhaul systems. The three

    backhaul systems are integrated with the

    AMI head-end system. Network creation

    remains ongoing.

    The city is using city government facili-

    ties that have local-area network (LAN)

    capability in the first line of backhauling

    data, which provides about 5 percent of

    network coverage for power of devices and

    backhaul of data.

    In addition, the city has established

    an agreement with Comcast to use cable

    modems installed in the power supplies

    throughout the service territory to provide

    some 90 percent of network coverage for

    power of devices and backhaul of data.

    The utility also uses cellular modems in

    partnership with Verizon Communications

    Inc. to provide the remaining network cov-

    erage for backhauling data.

    Power to the devices is supplied either

    from city power at the utility poles or

    through solar power.

    MDMS and portal. The MDMS is a

    separate computer system responsible for

    maintaining the metering data, analyzing

    it and reporting on the data.

    It integrates with other computer sys-

    tems and a centralized billing system from

    PeopleSoft called a customer information

    system (CIS).

    This system previously existed and was

    the only aspect of the municipalitys utility

    infrastructure that already integrated elec-

    tric, gas and water.

    The MDMS system had to be developed

    largely from the ground up in conjunction

    with Aclara. This is a critical system for

    tying everything together, including the

    smart grid platform and existing utility

    systems. It is the key point for connec-

    tion to the Web portal. It also will include

    advanced meter theft analytics. MDMS

    work was completed by internal infor-

    mation technology staff and third-party

    integrators.

    The Web portal is called e+ Online,

    which is where customers can view their

    current and historical bills and usage for

    all three utility services plus sewer, solid

    waste, fire and storm water services. From

    this portal, customers also can pay their

    bills, use a rate comparison tool to choose

    the best rate for their lifestyles and look

    at weather data and consumption. Meter

    data is available in 30-minute increments.

    Gas and water data are available in hourly

    increments.

    CHANGE MANAGEMENT

    Beyond system implementation,

    the training reflected that a significant

    1307PG_20 20 7/8/13 1:05 PM

  • July 2013 | 21 www.power-grid.com

    misunderstandings and hurt feelings.

    Customers also are affected by the new

    smart metering system. Having an excel-

    lent customer communication plan is

    essential to maximizing customer satis-

    faction by providing them with adequate

    educational information about the system

    and its benefits.

    Although the city of Tallahassee enjoys

    ownership of all three utilities, it can envi-

    sion scenarios in which this is not the case,

    and yet a single smart grid system still

    could be employed through a partnership

    model with other utilities.

    All the utilities would benefit by

    increasing efficiency around meter read-

    ing, improving meter-reading reliability,

    enhancing customer service, reducing fleet

    costs and lowering labor costs.

    was created to help customers understand

    why the utility was replacing dumb meters

    with smart ones, highlighting benefits to

    customers and not just the utility.

    OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

    Working with internal utility depart-

    ments and the technology provider pro-

    duced a system that works well, and the

    city already is beginning to reap benefits.

    The city has reduced overall costs by

    requiring a smaller fleet and personnel

    pool for reading meters, with meter read-

    ing essentially automated. The field ser-

    vices department reduced its staff by half,

    and a team remains for troubleshooting

    and handling connects and disconnects.

    In some cases, a lack of available power

    presented challenges. Some areas in the

    service territory have neither solar nor city

    power available, including heavily wooded

    locations outside the citys electrical cover-

    age area.

    The utility is working with the technol-

    ogy provider on strategies to achieve full

    network coverage for these instances.

    One approach might be drive-by auto-

    mated meter reading (AMR) rather than a

    true smart meter network.

    In this case, a truck can drive down the

    street to pick up readings. This approach

    loses the real-time benefits, but this situ-

    ation applies to less than 5 percent of the

    service territory.

    LEARNINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS

    Technology can create many issues that

    are not or could not be anticipated.

    As noted, the MDMS system had to be

    developed largely from scratch. The utility

    originally assumed it could rely on an off-

    the-shelf system.

    A related learning is allowing adequate

    time and resources for software revisions.

    Bugs and other issues arose and resulted

    in a new revision, installation and round

    of testing.

    None were too challenging to overcome

    but delays accumulated.

    Having strong partnerships internally

    and externally is paramount to working

    through the issues and finding solutions.

    Significant new technologies create non-

    technology people-centered problems.

    In particular, implementing a merged

    smart grid system will disrupt existing

    business processes.

    That was true for the city of Tallahassee.

    Identifying and modifying business pro-

    cesses will require significant interdepart-

    mental cooperation. Having a strong part-

    nership with a technology provider with

    related experience can improve opportuni-

    ties to identify and assist with the needed

    changes.

    It is important to

    provide the education

    needed to create inter-

    nal understanding of

    the business process

    changes and how

    they will benefit other

    departments.

    This leads to buy in

    from employees who

    will be affected most

    by the system imple-

    mentation. Related,

    these changes can

    drive unmanageable

    wish lists as employ-

    ees imagine excit-

    ing new possibilities

    enabled by these new

    technologies.

    Understand what

    the utility needs

    and separate the

    needs from wants.

    This can prevent

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    Reclaim your Wire and Cable

    from Damaged Wood Reels.

    Your complete source for Reel and Cable Handling Equipment

    Broken Reel Turntable with empty reel

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  • 22 | July 2013www.power-grid.com

    Scenario 1: 100 A, 240/120 V service from existing overhead transformer, 75-foot overhead wire to a service mast.

    Scenario 2: 200 A, 240/120 V service, set new pole and transformer in an existing single-phase primary, service 100 feet underground to a meter base.

    Scenario 3: 200 A, 240/120 V service, run 200 feet. Underground primary from existing overhead to new padmount transformer, run service to meter base.

    Scenario 4: 200 kW demand, 120/208 V service, set riser pole in existing overhead line, run primary 200 feet to a new padmount transformer, three-phase service 50 feet underground.

    TYPICAL CREW SIZE BY SCENARIO 1

    1: Overhead Service 2: Underground Service 3: Install Padmount andUnderground Service

    4: New Riser Pole, Padmountand Underground Service

    1 person 2 person 3 person 4 person 5 person 6 person

    4

    1 0 0

    9

    4

    0 1

    2

    3

    5

    2

    0

    6

    5

    6

    0

    2

    3 3

    0 0 0 1

    Benchmarking Results: T&D Crew Size and Equipment Analysis

    BY TIM SZYBALSKI, FIRST QUARTILE CONSULTING

    First Quartile Consulting (1QC) has

    surveyed utility crew productivity

    practices as part of its annual questionnaire

    for the past five years. One of the factors

    for improving productivity is scheduling

    the right size crew for the jobpart of the

    overall important role played by the plan-

    ning and scheduling function.

    1QC asked several detailed questions

    regarding typical crew sizes and equipment

    for different types of jobs. Two approaches

    were used to gather crew size data: first,

    four detailed scenarios were presented

    for jobs of increasing complexity; then a

    broader list of work tasks without detailed

    descriptions was presented to gather data

    on smaller jobs.

    The conventional wisdom is that smaller

    crew sizes are more productive. Analysis

    suggests companies change crew composi-

    tion to fit specific tasks. The data suggests

    that one-person crews are used for the

    simpler overhead jobs but two- and three-

    person crews are more the rule for most

    underground tasks. Larger underground

    jobs generally are still assigned to four-

    person crews.

    In a post-survey analysis, the most

    important finding was the number of trips

    to job sites. Crew sizes reported for the

    various scenarios varied greatly. For some

    of the companies, especially electric-only

    utilities, developers or contractors perform

    much of the trenching and civil work.

    Other utilities use specialty or contract

    crews for pole delivery and pole setting.

    Benchmarking comparisons are worth

    exploring for an individual company, but

    1QCs experience shows that many other

    factors go into determining the right size

    crew: safety requirements, equipment,

    union rules, skill sets, use of apprentices,

    Tim Szybalski is a director at First Quartile

    Consulting, a management consulting firm

    that performs consulting and benchmark-

    ing services across electric transmission,

    distribution and customer service for North

    American utilities. Szybalskis career includes

    more than 25 years of consulting to utili-

    ties and more than 15 years working as

    an engineer and manager for SDG&E and

    PG&E. He has a bachelors degree in indus-

    trial engineering from Stanford University, a

    masters degree in operations research from

    University of California, Berkeley and a MBA

    from San Diego State University. Reach him

    at [email protected] or visit

    www.1qconsulting.com for more information.

    role of working crew leaders, job mix

    and travel distances.

    CREW SIZES FOR FOUR SCENARIOS

    The survey identified four detailed sce-

    narios of increasing complexity:

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  • July 2013 | 23 www.power-grid.com

    1. Overhead service (from existing

    overhead transformer);

    2. Underground service (set new

    pole, install overhead transform-

    er, and underground riser and

    service);

    3. New padmount and under-

    ground service (from existing

    overhead primary); and

    4. New riser pole, padmount and

    underground service.

    Figure 1 shows the number of

    companies that send different size

    crews for each scenario:

    1. Scenario 1 (overhead service).

    The most common practice is to

    NO. OF COMPANIES WITH CREW SIZE OF N AVERAGE

    CREW SIZETASK N=1 N=2 N=3 N=4 N=5

    Night Shift Trouble Call Response 12 2 1 2 0 1.4

    Line Patrol 11 4 0 1 0 1.4

    Day Shift Trouble Call Response 9 3 1 0 0 1.4

    Overhead HV Switching 11 5 0 1 0 1.5

    Overhead Service Installation 5 9 0 0 0 1.9

    Street Light Maintenance 5 5 0 2 0 1.9

    Underground HV Switching 3 10 1 0 1 2.1

    Underground Fault Location 2 2 2 4 1 2.3

    Underground Secondary Cable Repair

    2 5 3 3 1 2.6

    Underground Primary Cable Repair 0 4 5 4 1 3.1

    Set Tangent Pole in Energized Line 0 3 4 8 1 3.4

    TASK AND DISTRIBUTION OF CREW SIZE 2

    G OR E? SCENARIO 1 SCENARIO 2 SCENARIO 3 SCENARIO 4

    Assumption for companies that do not send out digger/backhoe is that trench is dug by developer or contractor

    E Single-bucket, reel truck2-person bucket, line truck, 1-ton pickup

    2-person bucket, line truck, 1-ton pickup

    2-person bucket, line truck, 1-ton pickup

    E NAAerial lift truck, single bucket

    2 medium trucks, 1 trailer, 1 boom truck

    NA

    E Bucket truck Bucket truck, boom truck Bucket truck, boom truck Bucket truck, boom truck

    E 37 MH 55 MH, CF pickup 55 MH, CF pickup 55 MH, CF Pickup

    E Service bucket50 bucket, foreman truck, boom truck, material trailer

    NA50 bucket, foreman truck, boom truck, material trailer

    E Small bucket Bucket truck, boom truck UG vanOH: bucket, boom truck, UG: van

    Assumption for companies that send out digger/backhoe is that they dig their own trench

    G&E Bucket Bucket, diggerTrencher, bucket, digger, dump truck, equipment trailer

    Trencher, bucket, digger, dump truck, equipment trailer

    G&E Service bucket Bucket, digger derrick Bucket, pickup, digger derrickBucket, pickup, cable hog, crane truck, digger derrick

    G&E Bucket truck2-person bucket truck, 3 bread vans, 3 pickups, pole truck, digger

    2-person bucket truck, 3 bread vans, 2 pickups

    2-person bucket truck, 3 bread vans, 2 pickups

    E Small bucket Aerial bucket, digger derrick Aerial bucket, digger derrick Aerial bucket, digger derrick

    G&E BucketBucket truck, trencher or backhoe

    Bucket truck, trencher or backhoe

    Bucket truck, trencher or backhoe

    E Bucket Bucket, digger 2 buckets 2 buckets, digger

    E Bucket service truck 55 bucket, digger 55 bucket, digger 55 bucket, digger

    G&E 1- or 2-person bucket2-person bucket, line truck, backhoe

    2-person bucket, line truck, backhoe

    2-person bucket, line truck, backhoe

    G&E Bucket Bucket, digger Bucket trailer Bucket, digger

    EQUIPMENT ASSIGNED TO WORK TASKS 3

    E = Electric utility and G = Gas Utility

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  • 24 | July 2013www.power-grid.com

    appears the companies that did not report

    diggers and backhoes relied on developers

    or contractors to do the work. These

    tended to be the electric-only companies

    as shown in the first column. The detailed

    results for the scenarios are shown in

    Table 3. The detail for additional tasks is

    available but not reported here.

    Table 4 shows the types of equipment

    being sent to the job site for each scenario.

    A company different than the norm

    might investigate differences in practices.

    One key driver is the use of developers

    of contractors to do the trenching work.

    Another area to investigate is the number

    of trips and timing of specialized crews

    or pieces of equipment for trenching and

    material delivery.

    The survey was designed to find the

    answers to Whats the right number of

    people? and Whats the right type of

    equipment for the job? There isnt one

    right answer. Variables include whether

    the company relies on developers

    or contractors to do the trenching;

    whether equipment is delivered to the

    job site; and how safety concerns affect

    staffing decisions. This crew size and

    assigned equipment analysis is valuable

    to companies that are interested in

    exploring their crew practices and

    evaluating their positions compared

    with peers. If a companys typical crew

    is wildly outside the norm, then that

    is a flag to look for an opportunity for

    improvement.

    send a two-person crew, followed in

    preference by a one-person crew.

    2. Scenario 2 (underground service).

    The results were mixed; a four-per-

    son crew was most common but

    varied from two to five, depend-

    ing on trenching work done by the

    developer or contractor.

    3. Scenario 3 (install padmount

    and underground service). Both

    three- and four-person crews were

    predominant, although three com-

    panies are using five-person crews,

    again depending upon the work

    done by others.

    4. Scenario 4 (a more

    complex job). The

    four-person crew

    was the most used,

    although the crew

    sizes ranged from

    two to six. Several

    companies relied

    on pole setting or

    pole delivery crews that were not

    reported in the data.

    A few data points were omitted. One

    company reported a one-person crew who

    acted as inspector for contractor crews.

    Another company reported the cumulative

    number of employees who went to the job

    site (an interesting benchmarking number

    but not consistent with other reporting).

    The survey also asked for employee

    classifications. The typical larger crew had

    a mix of journeyman, apprentice, working

    foreman and other. None reported non-

    working foreman. This information might

    be useful to a company that wants to know

    why its crew sizes are different than other

    companies crew sizes.

    CREW SIZES FOR BROADER

    LIST OF WORK TASKS

    The survey also asked about crew

    sizes for a broader list of work tasks.

    The average crew size and number of

    companies reporting each crew size are

    provided for the following tasks. Table

    2 is sorted from top to bottom based

    upon the average crew

    size (which ranges from

    1.4 to 3.4).

    Going down the chart,

    the average crew size

    increases with job com-

    plexity, although there

    are variations among

    companies. The tasks at

    the top tend to have one-person crews,

    those in the middle have two-person

    crews, and the largest tasks have three-

    or four-person crews. The same caveats

    about differences in work done by

    developers, contractors and specialty

    crews still apply. A company could use

    this table to identify where its practices

    differ from other utilities practices.

    EQUIPMENT ASSIGNED

    TO DIFFERENT JOB TYPES

    The survey also asked for types of

    vehicles assigned to different job types

    for all the scenarios and the broader list

    of tasks. The detailed results of the four

    scenarios illustrate the range of practices,

    equipment types and nomenclature

    received. A significant difference was

    whether companies reported using

    diggers, backhoes or both. Based upon

    conversations with selected companies, it

    EQUIPMENT SCENARIO 1 SCENARIO 2 SCENARIO 3 SCENARIO 4

    Aerial lift truck 14 14 11 14

    Line trucks/UG vans 0 1 4 6

    Digger derricks/backhoes/trenchers

    0 8 4 5

    Medium truck 0 0 2 1

    Passenger vehicles 0 3 1 5

    NUMBER OF COMPANIES USING EACH TYPE OF EQUIPMENT FOR EACH SCENARIO

    4

    The typical larger crew had a mix of journeyman, apprentice, working foreman and other.

    1307PG_24 24 7/8/13 1:05 PM

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  • 26 | July 2013www.power-grid.com

    1900

    1906

    1912

    1918

    1924

    1930

    1936

    1942

    1948

    1954

    1960

    1966

    1972

    1978

    1984

    1990

    1996

    2002

    2008

    300

    240

    180

    120

    60

    0

    100

    80

    60

    40

    20

    0

    Quanti

    ty

    Cum

    ula

    tive

    %

    Year

    TRANSFORMER AGE PROFILE 1

    98.7 Percent of Units With Age Data

    Median Age: 34

    Mean Age: 33

    Units WithoutAge Data

    TxD

    DxD

    Asset Management

    Data, Analysis & Decisions

    BY DON ANGELL, TONY MCGRAIL AND KENNETH R. ELKINSON, DOBLE ENGINEERING CO.

    age of a unit is not necessarily a good

    indicator of transformer reliability.

    Much more attention should be given

    to design, manufacturer and service

    history.

    There is dawning realization in the

    electric power industry of the

    value of applying formal asset manage-

    ment principles.

    Such an approach, as embodied in

    the British standard PAS-55 and the

    incipient international standard ISO

    55000, enables the institutionalization

    of asset management best practices and

    consistent outcomes in this era of aging

    work force and ever-greater demands

    on the assets.

    In this context, the use of asset health

    scoring as a condition assessment tool

    and condition- and criticality-based

    ranking of the fleet as a template for

    asset management is gaining currency.

    It is vital for utilities to rapidly spot

    underperforming or potentially failing

    assets.

    Access to offline test data, online

    monitoring and synthesis of the result-

    ing monitoring data with operational

    and asset historical data provides the

    backbone for action planning and