Project Justification for an Enterprise Online Monitoring Program Amir Memic, P.E. Lower Colorado River Authority COMET 2015 Austin, TX November 12, 2015 1
Presentation Agenda 1. About LCRA 2. Building a business case 3. What is LCRA doing? 4. Q&A 2
LCRA Energy Water Community Services We protect people, property and the environment. 3
LCRA TSC Regulated Transmission Provider as of 2002 $2.1 Billion Transmission Assets (Net Plant) $ 361.5 Million Annual Revenues $23 million in Taxes (Property and Sales) CY 2014 Transmission Services Corporation 4 4
> 5150 miles of transmission line > 313 substations in operation January 2015 5
Building a Business Case http://www.coronetpublications.net/tag/simple-business-case-template 6
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Definitions Business Case: Justification for a proposed project or undertaking on the basis of its expected commercial benefit 8
As the electric system continues to grow, the goal of most transmission companies will be to: 1. Reduce the O&M costs 2. Build a maintainable/manageable asset replacement program without degrading existing reliability and quality of service. So how do we do more with less, all while we keep the guy above (management) happy? 9
https://www.puc.texas.gov/agency/about/commissioners/anderson/pp/restructuring%20today%20webinar% 20Jan%2015%202014.pdf 10
So what does this mean for Transmission Utilities? System availability to become more crucial Reliability Planned vs. Unplanned Outages Planned outage requests will become harder to plan during peak seasons Unplanned outages have potential to cause larger impacts to the system (reliability issues) Commerce Transmission Congestion Costs 11
We are engineers, we invent, implement, and optimize. Modify current practices to control the O&M budget & improve reliability Evolve from a Time Based Maintenance to a Condition Based Maintenance program Rethink how we manage the aging power system Develop a responsible yet economic asset retirement plan based on health metrics rather than depreciation rates Automate, Automate, Automate!!! Review reliability/health metrics on a more frequent basis Keep an eye on your assets by identifying bad actors and alarming trends 12
ISO 17359 Condition monitoring and diagnostics of machines (general guidelines) EPRI Condition Based Maintenance Guideline (Nuclear Industry) IEEE Building the Business Case for Condition Based Maintenance Figure from ISO 17359:2011 13
General Guidelines Start small if this goal seems daunting, every implementation has to start somewhere. 1. Gather the data already available Databases, Test Forms, Rounds & Asset Inspections, Maintenance Records, System Events, Nameplate Info, Number of Operations, Known Defects. Cast a wide net and work with multiple departments to develop a master map of the available data Work with IT department to map, consolidate, and organize multiple databases in hopes of centralizing the already available data Implement a priority grade system for locations, assets, work orders 2. Add sensors/collection methods for missing data Continue your partnership with IT and other departments as you install additional monitors, sensors, and points in your newly centralized data hub The objective is not to add sensors to everything, but only those assets and locations where it makes sense Transformers, breakers, & batteries are good assets to start with Location and Asset priority should be assigned as sensors are rolled out. (345kV>138kV>69kV) 3. Combine old and new data sources Marry the data in a flexible manner so that one database/data map will allow users to extract information 4. Analyze all data In house development vs. existing software solutions (Ventyx, IPS, Doble ARMS, SmartSUB, etc ) 14
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Implement CBM: Initial Cost is HIGH Uniform wear detection difficult Sensors life in environment Asset modifications for sensor install Older equipment can be difficult to retrofit Unpredictable maintenance periods Training workforce 1) New tools 2) Skilled eye cant be replaced Resistance to change Turning performance information from a system into actionable proactive maintenance items Doing Nothing: Costs of maintaining assets will grow as the system grows Manpower will become an issue Reliability metrics will become more difficult to maintain Inventory will have to grow Eventually will get behind the pack both economically and technologically 16
Implement CBM Hard Benefits (Monetary): Reduce Maintenance Costs & Unscheduled Downtime Reduce Catastrophic Failures & Collateral Damage Defer Replacement (Extend Life) Increase Equipment Utilization (Future Xfrm Overloads) Lower disruptions to normal operations Improve reliability Minimize inventory of spare parts Soft Benefits: Information Standardization Increase in Reliability/Availability Increase Safety (local alarms, apps, etc.) Track Environmental Issues (Tracking leaking SF6 & Oil) 17
So what is LCRA doing? Started implementing the infrastructure required for CBM in baby steps.. 18
2011 LCRA started integrating 345kV autotransformer monitors (temp, multi-gas, LTC, load), at first the goal was to study potential auto overloading at sites showing congestion so a pilot was developed using PTLOAD and monitors. 19
Setbacks? Congestion disappeared when a large construction project ended near the pilot substation. The pilot never got to run its course and was soon dead in the water. 20
2012 LCRA developed a standard monitoring package (included in specification) for all new autos ordered and began retrofitting some existing 138kV autos & all existing 345kV autos with multi-gas monitors 21
Setback? Transformer manufacturers kept making integration mistakes so adoption of the new technology was painful. Managements sentiment was that the time and monetary investment in this technology was not beneficial. Burned! 22
2013 Many of the equipped autos were communicating back through the substation SCADA system and data could be streamed live. Finally Progress!! 23
Setbacks? When it came time to present to management, communications were intermittent and sometimes completely down for substations out in west Texas. God have mercy!!! 24
2014 LCRA completed multi-gas retrofits on all but 3 (345kV) older autos and continued the expansion of asset monitoring 25
Setbacks? Not many At this point both engineers and field technicians felt comfortable with the equipment. Engineers felt burned by some monitor companies, but overall the integration and function had become fully adopted by everyone. 26
Today Pilot project in progress to expand on existing auto monitoring now to include breakers and battery banks in addition to utilizing a smart asset analysis software 27
Setback? Run for it..too late! In life setbacks are to be expected 28
Tomorrow Quantify and display the pilot benefits to management (the guy above ) and build a business case to implement a complete CBM program system wide. Management support is a must! So make sure you get their buy in. 29
If we have learned nothing else today, the true lesson is. 30
No matter how defeated you feel, don t give up in your quest for deploying online monitoring (CBM)! 31
Thank You! Questions? Amir Memic, P.E. Engineer Asset Management & Optimization Office: (512) 578-4464 amir.memic@lcra.org Dalchau Service Center, Building C 3505 Montopolis Drive Austin, TX 78744 www.lcra.org 32