The Substation Below-Grade Analysis

The preparation of the substation layout for equipment installation is a vital element in the success of major capital projects. Equally important are the key integration processes involved in the equipment commissioning and plant-in-service phases of the endeavor. The integration of man, material, machinery, and methods require an intricate balancing act to maintain a specified budget, as well as timely component installation.

Process Evaluation and Cost Analysis Mechanism for Equipment Installation Ventures

This chapter explores how the lean quality principles and green initiatives are applied in capital project equipment installation of electric substations and line rehabilitation from the initial feasibility studies to the plant-in-service phase. Equipment installation process predicaments induce cost overruns and unnecessary extended electrical outages as well as extraneous strain on the bulk transmission system. Demand side management issues are best mitigated through astute planning of the power supply resources, load curtailment initiatives, and transmission flow contingency schemes.

The Socioeconomic Environment in Wind Turbine Generator System Integration

The renewable energy generation initiatives contain a low-cost viable option for the electric consumer worldwide. The efficient methodologies of wind, solar, ocean current, and geothermal power generation are attractive alternatives to fossil fuels. Based on the current condition of the infrastructure, most of the proposed wind energy projects require transmission line upgrades. In some regional impact studies, the existing transmission system may have sufficient capability to handle the power from the planned renewable generating sources. Nevertheless, integrating large amounts of wind power (even small amounts in some areas) will require some form of infrastructure upgrades.

Project Management Substation Guidelines

Well-organized and astute project management methods are indispensable in the equipment installation development. The strategy team evaluates the correct electrical equipment installation process from a flawless good start standpoint. The transition from the conceptual renewable energy incorporation activities to the detailed requirements of process design as well as the resource commitment is imperative for the implementation of the capital-intense project. The model must have exceptional management commitment to execute the technology within the current infrastructure. One of the key elements for delivery of the desired results within the scheme is the specification or scope. Strict adherence to the plan is expected throughout the project lifecycle. The manager is responsible for control of the project by monitoring its progression, identifying risks and resolving issues, and providing status of completed milestones.

Ordinal Capital Project Ranking Evaluation and the Quality Component

There is a general sense of developing “new” capital projects in a virgin arena and deemed as high-quality than performing the necessary upgrades on an existing project. Based on the increased need to mobilize the necessary resources, each project in the reliability sector must be prioritized for safety reasons and to avoid potential equipment damage to expedite the work. Properly planned capital projects are skillfully integrated within the portfolio envelope. Conditions such as the projects in the reliability sector create blackouts, increase costs, and develop a poor safety environment if left unattended.

Electrical Contractor Work Comparisons

The decision theory approach determines the optimal configuration by minimizing its cost for a given risk environment. Prioritization is necessary, as is some quantity of information. Supplementary information gathering may add value, but this depends on how much data the Project Manager already has and how much new information is to be gathered with analytic resources available. The payoff from spending time on project decision analysis is already high, even with the brute force approach of analyzing all projects. The payoff could be higher if project decision analyses plans are focused by taking advantage of knowledge about the general characteristics of a project even before individual projects are assessed. The objectives of the study are to identify the cost structures, utilizing simplistic management science mechanisms, in the contractual work arena. A comparison between The Premium Select’s actual contractual costs against competitively-bid similar projects by other contractors forms the basis of this investigation.

Transmission Line Reconductoring Process Analysis

The electrical transmission congestions transpire when scheduled or actual load flows across a line/substation are restricted by the desired levels – either physically or by the electrical line capacity. Several electric companies are aware of the congestion problems and the associated costs, where new transmission upgrades are oftentimes incorporated with new generation in close proximity with the load. Other companies are taking advantage of the benefits Smart Grid technologies propose that captures renewable energy production to defer the transmission upgrades based on the peak load growth. The industrial operations process analysis of the Line Rebuild project is an important cost-reduction mechanism to evaluate system integration. The value-added evaluation process provides the necessary front-end analysis for prudent decision-making of capital improvement endeavors.

Above Grade Analysis

Generally, in order to build the initial substation for the wind turbines or any other renewable supply source, specific tasks are evaluated and subsequently allocated to the skilled personnel. The equipment installation varies tremendously as determined by the complexity of the work effort. Some electric utilities utilize a standard boilerplate for labor and cost whereas other entities rely on the most experienced planners and engineers to provide the most plausible estimates. However, the accuracy of the entire capital project cost estimates depends upon the process analysis data as an established baseline parameter. Once the major preliminary components (meteorology, public relations, electrical engineering studies, land issues, and civil engineering development) and pre-construction activities (negotiations with the wind turbine manufactures, contractor mobilization, and development of the environmental construction plan) are completed in a renewable energy capital project, the venture enters the execution phase. There are variations of the theme based on the grade conditions, remote locations, and the availability of assets. The resources at some locations may perform construction activities in sensitive areas where site-specific environmental procedures and/or best practices are strictly followed.

Electrical Financial Project Analysis

A comprehensive contemplation of the essential goals in an organization is essential to evaluate the capital integration problem. The development of cost tracking methods derived as a direct result of the study. The manager’s deficiency in visible dashboards of the project cost and schedule data require immediate attention. The financial details includes the previous year’s results, the median cost, the year-to-date average cost, the long-term average cost, the upper control limit, the lower control limit, the year-to-date cost, the last-year-to-date cost, the variance from last-year-to-date cost, the year-to-date budget, and the variance from the budget. The implementation of the Project Management Financial & Scheduling Optimization Tool in capital planning is required to control the individual project budget and corresponding schedule. The guidelines included checkpoint methodology, responsibility metrics, historical actual spend data, forecasting logic, and process management flow diagramming.

Permit Issuance Process Evaluation

The most frequent customer complaint is the amount of time it takes to process and issue a permit. The obvious goal is to reduce the time it takes from submittal of an application to the issuance of the necessary permits to be able to start and complete construction. It is an improvement process designed to meet customer expectations while maintaining assurance that the public benefit is achieved. Seven various scheduling and cost configuration scenarios are analyzed to determine the optimal resource leveling condition(s). The foundation is developed for the strategist to assist with the time and cost trade-off evaluation involved in capacity planning for permit processing.