Western Underground
SDGE Smart Technology
& Grid Hardening
1
Topics
• Deployment of Overhead Radio Fault Indicators
• Deployment of Undergroud
• Hendrix/Steel
Radio Fault Indicators
Pole Installations
• Steel Poles In HFRA & Fiberglass
Poles In Wetland Locations
2
SDG&E Overview
• San Diego Gas & Electric® was
•
•
founded in 1881, supplying 59
customers with gas for
streetlights, homes and
businesses in downtown San
Diego (now the Gaslamp
District).
Today, SDG&E is a regulated,
public utility providing safe and
reliable energy services to 3.4
million customers through 1.4
million electric meters and
840,000 natural gas meters in
San Diego and South Orange
County.
Customer mix is 89% residential
and 11% commercial &
industrial.
• SDG&E and Southern California
Gas Company are a part of
Sempra Energy, a Fortune 500
company.
3
System Statistics – Electric Distribution
• Over 1000 Circuits; about 163,000 transformers,
4100 sq. miles
– 4 kV, 12 kV,
– About 70% Underground; almost 22,000 miles total
– Heavily automated at substation and circuit level, with over 1000 SCADA
controlled devices, and over 75 SCADA substations
– Five year average SAIDI less than 60 minutes
– About 500 cable faults per year, 1800 outages total
– Over 160 MW distributed solar now, across 22,000 customers
– One of first major cities to rollout electric vehicles – 2K customers to date
– Six main operating districts with two satellites
– Coastal, inland, mountain, and desert environments
• SDG&E was first California IOU to file comprehensive
Deployment plan to CPUC – June 2011
Smart Grid
4
Overhead Radio Fault Indicators
5
Development of Radio Fault Indicators
• Schweitzer Engineering
Laboratories provides most of our fault indicators
• On Ramp Wireless (ORW) worked with SEL to incorporate communications
into an existing OH fault indicator
• Provided a working device which required testing
WSO-11 FCI
6
Goal of Overhead Wireless Fault Indicator
Project
• Deployed and tested 25 units for proof of concept
They worked
– Using the ORW Network
• Install 2800 units in 2012 – Required SDGE Installing
• Our Goal is to install over 10,000 FCIs, combination
35 Access Points
of OH and UG, by 2017
• Sync with OMS/DMS for Operations
7
Approach and Methodology
• Locations Picked
–
Non-SCADA switches
–
Non-SCADA circuits
–
Replacing Non-Wireless Fault Indicators
–
Grounding Banks
• Verify communication
network coverage
coverage at each location from OnRamp provided
• Future locations
–
Solid blade fuses
–
Key branches
–
12/4kV Step-downs
8
Example Of Overhead FCI Deployment
• Rural Circuits with High Fire Danger
– Elevated fire condition policy: Completely patrol a line before
reenergizing, after a circuit trip. We operate in this condition for
almost half the year, covering much of the service territory
• Lack of vehicle access makes this process arduous, especially for
distribution lines
– Thus automation to pin point the fault was a major driver
– In 2012 we began installing the production units of the SEL/ORW
Overhead Wireless Faulted Circuit Indicator (FCI)
• System changes and firmware upgrades can be done remotely,
which is very important with many units in the field
9
12kV Circuit Located in Extreme Fire Area
Sub
Last Communicating
Device “Intellirupter”
ETS would have to
patrol from here,
possibly taking hours to
restore the circuit
Many miles
from substation
Fault
10
10
12kV Circuit Located in Extreme Fire Area
Sub
No fault
LOC event
“Intellirupter”
Shows Fault
ETS would have to begin
his patrol here saving
hours in circuit
restoration
Fault
Many miles
from substation
11
11
Installed WFIs on Distribution Circuit
Antenna
WFI being
installed with a
“Shotgun”
WFI installed on
“A”, “B”, & “C”
Phases
12
Underground Fault Indicators
13
Goal of Underground Wireless Fault Indicator
Project
• Having the FCI communicate
in the overhead located 30+ feet above
ground is much different than being able to communicate:
– From within a pad mounted structure
– From within an underground manhole or handhole
– From within an underground vault two stories below grade
• Thus it was necessary
combinations
to pilot underground FCI’s in the various
14
DOE Underground FCI Pilot
• This project was sponsored by
– Department of Energy (DOE),
– On Ramp Wireless,
– Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
– SDG&E
• The first step was to install an ORW/SDGE Test Network for our
underground pilot
– This required installing Access Points (AP’s) in four areas
15
DOE Underground FCI/Transformer Pilot
• The next step was to locate underground switches
each Access Point
within ½ mile radius of
– The SEL FCI’s for switches are self powered (8301D) –first generation
• In each area we have deployed three FCI’s
• We tested, and continue to test the SEL 8301D FCI’s
• The goal is to test communications
as well as data accuracy
16
DOE Underground FCI/Transformer Pilot – Cont’d
• Fall of 2012, SEL developed a new and improved
underground FCI - 8301A
– The 8301A FCI was equipped with two antennas which offer increased
propagation range using diversity scheme
– Part II of the pilot was to increase our installation radius from the AP
of ½ mile, to ¾ mile for the FCI’s
– We installed ten more FCI (8301A) second generation units
• Again the goal is to measure communications reliability and data
accuracy
• The next slide will show a coverage map and some of the results,
by pictures of our installations
followed
17
Century Park Coverage Map
© On-Ramp Wireless, Inc. All rights reserved.
18
SDGE Summary June 28, 2012 – January 3,
2013
• 10 Schweitzer Engineering Labs Underground
8301D FCIs
– Reporting every 24 hours
• 10 Schweitzer Engineering Labs Underground
8301A FCIs
– Reporting every 6 hours
– Installed mid November
• 11 Padmounts,
3 Manholes, 5 Vaults, & 1 Handhole
• SDU Reliability:
99.7%*
– 414599 SDUs expected
– 413341 SDUs received
* The reliability was 99.9% if we factored out one problem switch
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SDGE Summary Slide – Asset Type
Received
Expected
Percent
Manhole
857
862
99.4%
Padmount
Vault
Handhole
386840
25417
227
388012
25492
233
99.7%
99.7%
97.4%
Received
Expected
Percent
All
413341
414599
99.7%
Excluding Thornmint TIQ
389988
390528
99.9%
410106
411294
99.7%
3235
3305
97.9%
8301D
(within .5 mile radius)
8301A
(within .75 mile radius)
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20
Radio Ranger Installed On PME 10 Switch
Compartment 1
ORW
Remote
Single
Antenna
SEL Sensing
Coils
8301D Radio
Ranger/Internal
Battery With ORW
21
Radio
Radio Ranger Installed On A PME 10 Switch
Two
Antenna’s
8301A Radio Ranger
SEL Sensing Coils
22
Radio Ranger Installed On PME 10 Compartments 3 & 4
Compartment 4
Compartment 3
SEL Sensing Coils
Sensing Cables Route Under the
Switch To The Radio Ranger
Located In Compartment 1
23
Four-Way Gas Switch
Single Antenna
SEL Sensing
Coils
8301D Radio
Ranger
24
Four-Way Gas Switch
Antenna
SEL
Sensing
Coils
8301D
Radio
Ranger
With ORW
25
Handhole Mounted 8301A Radio Ranger
Two Antenna’s:
Signal Must
Propagate Through
Aluminum Lid
Hinged
Aluminum
Lid
8301A Radio
Ranger
26
Vault Mounted Four Way Gas Switch – Vaults
Are Dry
8301A
Radio
Ranger
Mounted
On Vault
Wall
27
Same Vault Mounted Switch With 8301A Radio
Ranger – Vaults are Dry
8301A
Radio
Ranger
Two Antenna’s
Signal Must
Propagate
Through Cast
iron
Lid/Concrete
Vault
Cover,
Cast Iron
Lid
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Manhole Mounted – 8301D Radio Ranger Fault Indicator –
Manholes Subject To Submersion
Coaxial
Cable
8301D Radio Ranger Mounted On
Wall Of Manhole
Single Antenna Mounted In The Neck Of
The Manhole, Signal must propagate 29
through cast iron lid/concrete
Radio Ranger Installed On A 4 Way Oil Switch – Subject To
Submersion
SEL Sensing Coils On G&W Oil Switch
30
Preparation To Install Radio Ranger Fault Indicators In A
Manhole
Traffic
Control
Pumper
Truck
However Once Installed We May Not Need To Open The Manhole
31
SDGE Future Plans For Underground FCI’s
• We have been pleased with the results
• We are working with SEL on several product improvements
• Pressure sensor for measuring water depth in manholes
• Better load accuracy from the pick-up coils
• SEL plans to have those improvements completed this year
• SDGE plans to install 100 units in 2013
32
Hendrix Spacer Cable System
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Hendrix Overhead Construction
• Hendrix Spacer Cable System is used world wide in areas that are
• Heavily wooded
• Have significant wind, ice and snow
• Used in Australia in high fire prone area
• Our first application using Hendrix was on Palomar Mountain. We
used Hendrix Tree Wire on conventional crossarms for this heavily
wooded area.
• After the fact, we learned that the Hendrix Spacer Cable System was
over three times as strong, and much more reliable than open wire
installations
• Thus, SDGE worked with Hendrix to modify their products to be
applicable to California’s G.O. 95 requirements
• 18” phase to phase
• 9” phase to ground
34
Hendrix Installations At SDGE
• Hendrix modified their brackets, and spacers to comply with California
requirements
• Tangent Bracket, “C” Bracket, “E” Bracket, & GO 95 Spacer
• Our first spacer application was installed at our Skills Training Center
• The next two spacer cable applications were in heavily treed areas
• All the above jobs, and all future Hendrix jobs will be installed on steel
poles for strength and added fire protection
• The advantage of the spacer cable system is:
• Traditional ACSR wire has a breaking strength of ~4000#’s
• Hendrix Spacer System relies on a messenger cable with breaking
strength of ~17,000 #’s
• The conductors are insulated thus if a tree branch falls across the
messenger and conductors there is no fault, and in most cases the
system stays in tact
35
Skills Training Center Level Ground
Hendrix Tangent
Bracket With GO95
Spacer
Hendrix
Termination Bracket
& Polymer
Deadend with
Hendrix Preforms
GO95 Spacers
36
Skills Training Center – Level Ground
GO95 Spacers
installed
approximately 30
feet apart
Steel Pole with
Hendrix Tangent
Support Bracket
& G095 Spacer
37
Palomar Mountain Heavy Tree Area With Snow and Ice
In The Winter – Line Changes 600’ Elevation in a little
over 2500’ Horizontally
38
Palomar Mountain Heavy Tree Area With Snow and Ice In
The Winter
Tangent
Construction
39
Palomar Mountain Hendrix
Construction With Transformer
Cutouts on
Alumaform
Arms
“C” Bracket
with
Messenger
Deadended
40
Palomar Mountain Hendrix Construction
Steep Slope
“C” Bracket With
Messenger
Deadended For
Steep Slope
Swivel GO
95 Spacers
For Steep
Slope
Construction
Looking North Down The Hill
41
Steel Poles In HFRA & Fiberglass Poles In
Wetland Locations
42
Steel Poles In HFRA & Fiberglass Poles In
Wetland Locations
• Over the last few years we have installed over 4,000 Steel Poles
in back country locations
• Our poles are manufactured by Valmont, with equipment and
climbing holes in a “knock-out” configuration
• Our poles are direct buried with treated “butts” of an epoxy
compound called “Corrocoat”
• We have “RIV Grounds” installed at each equipment level
including communications and at the “butt” for the ground
rod connection
• We use galvanized poles in urban locations, and use
weathering steel in back country locations including the
national forest
43
Steel Poles In HFRA & Fiberglass Poles In
Wetland/Back-lot Locations – Cont’d
• We have also started using fiberglass poles in wetland and back
lot locations, and have installed approximately 40 poles to date
• We are using RS Structure Fiberglass poles
• The poles come “nested”
• Advantage for back lot locations is that they can be hand
carried into those locations and “ginned” into place
• For wet land locations the poles can be pre-assembled or
assembled on site
• We often install these poles using “sono tubes”
• We order the poles pre-drilled with climbing holes
• Grounds etc. are extended internally inside of the poles
44
First Fiberglass Poles Set In SDGE
Service Territory
Existing Two
Pole Structure
in this Marsh
land location
had rotted out
45
First Fiberglass Poles Set In SDGE Service
Territory
Two Pole Fiberglass Structure
Marshy Area Required
Placing Sono Tubes For
Installation
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