Extreme heat takes its toll on Electric Substation
The long number of days with tem- peratures exceeding 100 degrees adds stress to electric substations.
These
temperatures are unbearable for humans and animals.
What we may not think
about is that this extreme heat wave is also hard on the electric transmissions and distribution grids.
High tempera-
tures make our air conditioners and re- frigerators work much harder and longer. When the nighttime temperatures do not dip below mid 80’s, there is not much rest and cool down period for our equipment at home. This puts higher demand on trans- formers, breakers and other distribution and transmission systems with no cool down pe- riods for the equipment. The heat continues to build up inside the equipment and eventu- ally cause failure. This is exactly what happened to the high voltage breaker at the Tahlequah substation on Mud Valley Road just before 9:30 p.m. on Monday, August 1st. The excessive heat built up at the breaker caused the breaker to explode and catch on fire. The power was knocked off to the substation and left over 1,600 customers without electricity. KAMO Electric Cooperative, LREC’s power sup- plier, who owns and operates the substation, quickly dispatched crews to assess damage and fix the problem. LREC crews, mean- while, re-routed power from other substa- tions and back fed the affected customers. Power to most customers was restored within two hours, while KAMO crews were work- ing hard to repair the substation. “We were confident that back-feeding
would be sufficient to supply the overnight demand. However, the system would not be able to handle the demand once the sun came up on August 2nd. The substation had to be repaired and in service before the sunrise,” said Hamid Vahdatipour, LREC CEO. The breaker explosion had caused the in-
sulating mineral oil to be sprayed on the bus work in the substation. All the bus work and the insulators had to be wiped clean of the oil in order to avoid the possibility of the oil
What Are My Lighting Options?
? Photo by: Hamid Vahdatipour
igniting once the power was restored to the substation. Six KAMO crew mem- bers and ten LREC linemen began the tedious job of climbing the bus work and wiping it clean. By 1:11 a.m. the substation was cleaned and the power was restored to the substation. LREC crews then re-routed all the back-feeds to their normal position and the resto- ration process was completed by 2:30 a.m.
“Between 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. August 1st, 373 calls were answered by LREC dispatch and the automated outage system. This is nearly 10 calls answered a minute” said Vahdatipour. “During the next hour 409 calls were answered and 118 more phone calls were answered by midnight” he added. The combination of live dispatch operators and the automated system has increased LREC’s ability to handle higher call volumes with more effi- ciency. LREC had 40% of the outage calls answered by the operators, while the remaining 60% were answered with the automated system. LREC encourages all members to provide us with their correct phone number. During an outage LREC’s au- tomated outage system can recognize the member’s caller ID information and report the outage without the need for the caller to provide an account number.
Starting in 2012, light bulbs must be more energy efficient.
The three most
common bulb options consumers will find on store shelves are:
Halogen incandescents Energy Savings:* 25 percent Lifespan:* Three times longer Annual Energy Cost: $3.50
Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs)
Energy Savings:* 75 percent Lifespan:* 10 times longer Annual Energy Cost: $1.20
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) Energy Savings:* 75-80 percent Lifespan:* 25 times longer
Annual Energy Cost: $1
energysavers.gov/lighting * As compared to traditional incandescent bulbs
Learn more at LREC Powerline Press 3
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