Southwestern Power Administration’s substation—which includes transmission lines, transformers, a capacitor bank, feeder lines, and main-and-transfer bus configuration—had outdated relays that required replacement. So they asked Barr design a relay panel replacement to modernize the protection and controls (P&C) scheme, remote terminal unit (RTU), and metering equipment. The project was complex because part of the system is owned by the City of Poplar Bluff, and the City did not want an upgrade at this time, so only necessary modifications were made to their particular panels and associated equipment.
To avoid any outages, SWPA also requested that we create a temporary design and mobile relay panels, which can be used during the panel replacement process. It is expected to take about seven weeks for the total project construction, using the temporary relays for about five weeks. Six new drawings were created and 68 existing drawings were modified for the temporary relay design set. A coloring scheme was used to differentiate temporary drawings from final drawings.
Additionally, a procedure document was prepared, providing step-by-step instructions for temporary set-up, removal, and final installation. Barr will also be providing onsite construction support in 2021.