the president’s report 2 | tesoro slc refinery project 4 | power...

HIGH-OCTANE UPGRADETHE TESORO SLC REFINERY PROJECT

NOVEMBER 2013

THE PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2 | TESORO SLC REFINERY PROJECT 4 | POWER OUTAGE 11 | SWAN FALLS ARCHEOLOGY STUDY 16

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HIGH-OCTANE UPGRADETHE TESORO SLC REFINERY PROJECT

NOVEMBER 2013

THE PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2 | TESORO SLC REFINERY PROJECT 4 | POWER OUTAGE 11 | SWAN FALLS ARCHEOLOGY STUDY 16

SURGESPOW

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November ContributorsMany thanks to Simon Shifrin, Dick Corolewski, Jerry Herrera, Jenny Rapley, Jim

Rudolph, Harvey Lehpamer, Lisa Conlon, Karla Rinckwald, Heidi Kelly, Bridget Dalin,

Jan Nall, Tonya Goitiandia, Ashley Tognoni and Jack Hand. Do you have a project,

team or capability you’d like to promote to the nearly 2,000 employees of POWER?

Call Mark Murdock at (208) 288-6485 or email [email protected].

2 Surges November 2013 November 2013 Surges 3

THE PRESIDENT’S REPORT

SURGESPOW

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NOVEMBER 2013VOLUME XXIII, No.6

Surges is a publication of

POWER Engineers, Inc. All

rights are reserved. No part

of this publication may be

reproduced without written

permission of the company.

Surges is not for distribution

outside of POWER Engineers.

If you would like to give a

copy to someone outside of

POWER Engineers, please

contact the editor.

Corporate SponsorBill Eisinger

EditorMark Murdock

Art DirectionHeidi Kelly

Surges CommitteeBridget Dalin

Christine Seidl

Annie Meyer

Karla Rinckwald

Simon Shifrin

Ariel Varland

Mendi Edgar

Heaven Walton

Jenny Rapley

SubmissionsIf you would like to contribute

to the newsletter, please

contact Mark Murdock at

(208) 288-6485, or email him at

[email protected].

THE CONTENT OF THIS INTRACOMPANY NEWSLETTER IS CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY.

and yearly financial data. This data is

accurate and valuable and includes metrics

like utilization, multiplier, write off/up data,

revenue per employee, number of employees

in your department, growth/decline of your

department over the last few years, achieved

multiplier, department percentage of labor/

training, and general expenses incurred.

By looking to the past and knowing or

anticipating the future, creating a financial

model is fairly simple to complete. So take a

step back and see that you have everything

you need. All corporate allocations should

already be embedded into the financial

template for each department so you only

need to enter the data that is under your

control. I almost hate to admit this, but

putting these plans together can/should

be fun and challenging. And each year, as

you learn more, it’s quite rewarding to see

that you actually can predict, with some

certainty, how we’ll perform in the coming

year. Anomalies aside, most DMs do an

excellent job with their forecasts.

The reason it is so critical to take this

process seriously and approach it honestly

(believe your intelligence) is because POWER

really does use these plans, rolled up into

business unit plans and then division plans,

to develop our yearly investment strategy.

We determine, from what the production

divisions deliver, what we’re going to spend

where and why from what you provide. For

at least the last 15 years, this methodology

has worked well for POWER. As we get

bigger, I see no reason why it can’t continue

to be the backbone of our yearly planning

process, but we must all be engaged, pay

attention and be honest about POWER’s

opportunities! After all of these plans are

completed and reviewed by management,

we present a consolidated version to the

entire senior management staff in January

of each year. At this meeting, along with

playing the devil’s advocate in challenging

the market and financial analysis for the

upcoming year, we try to address all plan

concerns, investments requested, resources

required and IT or systems upgrades needed.

This effort takes 20+ people three and a half

days. It’s rigorous, challenging and fun. But

most of all, it’s what we do to verify that each

year we all buy into the direction that POWER

will invest and why! The final product of this

several month effort must be a defendable,

executable, all-inclusive product that

provides good vision and direction for the

next one to three years. It must have a vision

for the present and the future and will be

the basis for what the MC presents to the

Board of Directors as well as the basis for

the MC’s yearly Corporate Strategic Plan

Presentation, which is presented to each

office within POWER.

It’s a big effort, but as long as we take

it seriously, it will have high value. I’d like

to keep this effort as a POWER standard—

it works!!

Thank you for helping make POWER a

great place to work.

THE PRESIDENT’S REPORT

PLAN THE WORK—WORK THE PLANEvery year at this time, we must add to our

already heavy workload by developing our 2014

Business & Financial Plans and projections.

This is one of our most important yearly tasks

as a business. These documents are the basis

for how/where we intend to invest our time,

energy and money over the next few years.

The business plan process, for our newer

folks, is a bottom-up effort which identifies

what we expect/need to accomplish. We

always start with each production department

and each business development department

working together to best identify the

opportunities, or lack

of opportunities, in

every market in which

we participate. Not

every department has

the capabilities or

market strength to

grow every year in

revenue (and profit),

but they must grow

in experience and

market savvy to be

a long-term going

concern. POWER

has never preached growth as a goal, only

a result of good people working together in

good markets, doing what they like with good

corporate support, with a focus of developing

a sustainable and profitable product. We can’t

create a good market or a good client, but we

must be able to identify one!

Assuming we make good choices, how

should this process actually work? Sometime

in early fall, every department manager in

POWER will receive a business plan template.

The template itself is designed to make the

planning process easier by providing general

direction on what management requires for

POWER to develop an all-company Corporate

Business Plan for 2014. Every DM is challenged

with gathering the best information and data for

each specific business plan category. No one

expects the DM to do this alone or in a vacuum,

actually we’d prefer that you don’t! Every DM

has numerous avenues for help—department

members, sales/business development

folks, project managers and of course, your

immediate supervisor. Take advantage of

the obvious and knowledgeable resources at

your disposal. Diverse

feedback will help

compile the mos t

accurate data and

information for your

yearly plan. After you

have the data and info

assembled logically

into the template, it’s

time to do a 2014

financial forecast for

your department. Again,

many avenues exist for

you to get the best

information, and significant data is readily

available. Obviously, your recent effort in

creating and developing the department’s

2014 business plan has given you considerable

insight into what financial potential your

department will have over the next year. This,

along with your own knowledge and experience,

will provide you with the tools to make

defendable financial predictions.

Another area of expertise which can assist

you in this process is POWER’s Finance

Department. They publish weekly, monthly

POWER has never preached growth as a goal, only a

result of good people working together in

good markets.

For at least the last 15 years, this

methodology has worked well

for POWER.


Tight squeeze.

A major challenge with

the 105-year-old Tesoro

refinery was limited space.

Transformation.

One of the two new

138x46–13.8kV,

21/28/35/39.2

MVA transformers.

HIGH-OCTANE UPGRADEPOWER brings the Tesoro SLC refinery into the 21st century.By Simon Shifrin

After a series of expensive power outages at its Salt Lake City refinery,

Tesoro called on POWER to study how to bolster the reliability of the

century-old facility.

Months later, the refinery suffered through two more outages, and POWER was soon back to work drawing up plans to execute a comprehensive reliability upgrade.

“A lot of times you’ll do a study, and it ends up sitting there collecting dust,” says Larry Anderson, a Power Delivery project manager and POWER’s key client liaison with Tesoro. “Well, every time a refinery has an outage, it’s millions and millions of dollars in lost production. And on top of that, the refinery lights up like a tiki torch from the emergency flaring (to burn excess gas), with humongous flames 100 feet tall shooting into the air.”

Lawmakers and state officials happened to have an excellent view of the flares belching black smoke from the Utah State Capitol, “so

you might say...” that there was some push to move forward with the project,” says Anderson.

It was natural that Tesoro would turn to POWER to design and manage the overhaul in Salt Lake City. Since 2007, Anderson has managed a series of successful refinery projects for Tesoro, including Golden Eagle in California, Kapolei in Hawaii, Mandan in North Dakota and Kenai in Alaska. POWER has established itself as Tesoro’s preferred provider for electrical system services, providing state-of-the-art, high-tech upgrades that have moved Tesoro’s facilities into the 21st century.

In early 2011, though, the Salt Lake City refinery was stuck with an outdated electrical system. It relied on a single shoestring

46 kV line to feed the entire refinery as well as two linked cogeneration units that could trip offline at the same time.

POWER’s study recommended a complete overhaul to build a fully redundant electrical system, including two feeders for every load.

The project would overshadow all of POWER’s previous Tesoro upgrades in scale and complexity. Anderson, the project manager, would even need to recruit a second project manager, Dale Murphy, just to manage the day-to-day workload.

Signs of age

The refinery originally opened in 1908, producing axle grease, harness dressings and lamp oil. More than 100 years later, it processes 58,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is linked to a network of pipelines and terminals across five states. But in 2011, the facility was showing of signs of age. Some of the problems included:

» The 60-year-old Rocky Mountain Power substation was vulnerable to equipment failures.

» The refinery’s 46 kV overhead distribution circuit represented a single point of failure.

» The two gas turbines used for cogeneration were tied together in parallel and linked to a single power distribution center, another single point of failure.

» There was bare energized medium-voltage conductor accessible in multiple places.

» Documentation was often inaccurate or non-existent.

For the first phase of the project, POWER proposed assembling two new substations, splitting apart the two turbines,

overhauling/constructing three power distribution centers, building several new distribution circuits, and designing a new protection and relaying system, including ultra-modern IEC 61850 schemes.

The second phase, which began in July after the first phase concluded, includes erecting the overhead distribution system, building three new power distribution centers in the refinery, and

migrating 44 refinery load centers to the new power distribution centers. That’s slated to end in October 2014.

“They’re going from horse-and-buggy to light speed,” says project engineer Cal Strope.

“The original system was ancient in some areas, and they are really going to be state-of-the-art when this is all over.”

Surprises underground

The first major portion of the project included designing the two new substations, which is where the team ran into its first major challenges.

A geotechnical investigation of Tesoro’s preferred site concluded that it was directly above the earthquake-prone Wasatch Fault.

The team began designing for a second location, a staff parking lot, which later turned out to have an 80-inch brick sewer line dating from the early 1900s that ran directly under the site but didn’t show up on any drawings.

Two months into the design, “we took everything we did, threw it in the trash can, and started on an alternate site,” says Murphy, the project manager.

The third site (another parking lot where the original refinery once stood) turned out to be workable, even though it had old foundations and contaminated soils, not to mention the seismic issues. The lead civil engineer, Henry (Hank) Lonberg in POWER’s Portland office, finally got his hands on the long-awaited geotechnical report, and

The project would overshadow all of POWER’s previous Tesoro upgrades in

scale and complexity.

PHOTO: CAL STROPE

PHOTO: CAL STROPE


the soil strength turned out to be about as bad as it can get. He told Anderson: “My goodness, we’re building on top of 50 feet of oil-impregnated loon poop.” (Avian fecal matter, in other words.)

The foundation had to go deep to get into competent soil. Tesoro produces its own monthly company news article and reported that the concrete volume could fill up an Olympic-size swimming pool.

But there was no budging the final deadline for Phase I of the project: a seven-day window to take the cogen units offline, which would require dozens of people to be on site and had to be scheduled years in advance. The substation delays just meant two fewer months to get everything done.

An intelligent solution

At the same time, design of the protection and relaying was taking shape. At an internal project kickoff meeting, Keith Gray, a SCADA and Analytical Services (SAS) project engineer, suggested using IEC 61850 communications schemes to take advantage of a new Ethernet network that would be installed in the refinery.

IEC 61850 is an emerging international standard for Ethernet-based substation communications. It allows for standardized, easy-to-manipulate data that tracks everything from voltage levels to equipment performance to faults. It enables connections between intelligent devices and allows for more continuous monitoring and error checking.

POWER has completed at least a half-dozen major IEC 61850 projects, but this would represent the largest deployment to date.

The team developed five different schemes using a 61850 data protocol called GOOSE messaging, which has a common naming format and structure that allows the intelligent devices to talk with one another. The schemes covered transfer tripping, breaker failure

tripping, remote generator synchronization and generator automation (including both remote metering and generator mode control).

POWER also recommended installing a back-up system using SEL’s more established “Mirrored Bits” communications in case the Ethernet network went down.

Tesoro’s engineers were unfamiliar with IEC 61850, but they quickly bought into POWER’s proposal when they learned about the capabilities, including reduced wiring, cheaper installation, lower long-term costs, easier programming fixes and the ability to transmit analog data.

Gray, who has been involved with IEC 61850 at POWER since the Boise lab opened, said the team had to step it up a notch compared to previous efforts, with increased documentation and testing due to the increased complexity and scope. “It looks like we are breaking trail,” Anderson told him.

The new documentation included functional specifications that detailed how the system was supposed to operate, failure modes, data transmitted, etc.

The specifications were authored by Gray and another project engineer, Jason Marenda. They then called upon Jared Mraz, lead protection engineer, to write programming code into the protective relays. “It was a challenge to keep an eye on the complex relaying schemes and

at the same time incorporate the GOOSE programming,” Mraz says. “It was a little nerve-wracking, as one line of coding error out of thousands could cause the plant to shut down.”

Gray and Mraz performed a “Vulcan mind meld” to develop test plans for each of the five critical schemes. They and other SAS engineers, including Nolan Snyder (Billings) and Marshall Christiansen (Kansas City), spent months onsite doing the programming and testing.

‘One shot at the moon’

The last major piece of Phase I was splitting apart the cogen units, which are responsible for producing power to operate the facility and for generating steam to drive a number of important refinery processes.

Documentation for the units was basically non-existent, including for the computer system used to control them.

Murphy said it took about 1,000 hours just to create as-built drawings and to investigate the system to see how it could be split apart.

It was scheduled to culminate in seven high-pressure days in July, when the refinery would be in maintenance mode, and POWER would be responsible for executing the cutover of the new substations, bringing the cogen units online, making all the necessary wiring changes and commissioning the protection, relaying and SCADA systems.

And all that had to be done with little opportunity to perform any real testing because the refinery would continue to operate at full capacity right up until this seven-day period. Most of the testing had to be simulated.

“An analogy would be NASA saying, ‘No, you don’t get all the Gemini missions or Apollo one through ten before landing on the moon,’” Anderson says. “I felt like we had one shot at the moon.”

Meanwhile, there would be a half-dozen other internal and external groups working on other aspects of the system, including an electrical contractor, a computer system vendor, Tesoro maintenance personnel, and communications and control system engineers.

And when it came time to execute, everyone looked to POWER to bring everything together, with “grave consequences if it doesn’t work,” Murphy says. “Contractually we weren’t responsible for

anything but our own work,” he says. “But in the gray area, everyone was looking to us as the leader of the gang.” Once the team started modifying systems at the cogen plant, they were also expected to be certain that all issues—whether related to the current project or preexisting conditions—were accounted for and working correctly.

On to Phase II

The commissioning ended up moving forward with minimal problems, and the system went operational on Saturday, July 13, 2013. Everyone breathed a lot easier that night, according to Murphy.

POWER has worked on plenty of refinery electrical systems, but none that have reached into so many parts of the refinery, or that have required so much internal coordination to be able to execute effectively.

“There was a lot of overtime and weekends and nights spent by POWER getting this done and scrambling to find resources to do it,”

Murphy says. “Everyone at POWER reports to different bosses, and they all have other projects with different deadlines. Finding time in people’s schedules to meet our schedule and get the right people lined up was really a challenge.”

The team is already deep into Phase II, so please wish them luck, or, as Anderson says,

“we all might see the tiki torch again and watch pump prices go up.” The Tesoro adventure will likely continue for years to come,

with two Los Angeles refineries needing major upgrades, too.

Simon Shifrin is a marketing and proposal development coordinator in Boise for the Power Delivery Division.

A THREE-DIVISION TEAM SUCCESS

The Tesoro Power System Reliability Improvement Project entails a comprehensive upgrade of the Salt Lake City refinery’s electrical system. A sizeable team at POWER, including staff from Power Delivery, Generation and Facilities, worked on Phase I of the project, which concluded in July.

THE TEAM’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING THE INITIAL PHASE INCLUDED:

» Separating two linked cogeneration units and giving them different feeds into the refinery electrical system.

» Executing the largest deployment of IEC 61850 that POWER has completed to-date, including five different GOOSE messaging schemes, robust design documentation and on-site testing.

» Designing a transmission substation and distribution substation.

» Designing a transmission line and distribution line.

» Designing two power distribution centers and modifying an existing center.

» Completing protection and relaying design.

» Performing procurement, analysis and schedule updates.

» Performing testing and commissioning.

It was scheduled to culminate in

seven high-pressure days in July.

“We’re building on top of 50 feet of oil-impregnated

loon poop.”

Two new substations. (Left)

Construction in progress

of both the Tesoro

and Rocky Mountain

Power substations.

Cogen control.

(Opposite page)

SCADA panel at the

cogeneration plant

including the HMI

screen, satellite

clock, Ethernet switch,

communication processor

and logic processors.

PHOTO: CAL STROPEPHOTO: CAL STROPE


POWER’S SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

HELP YOUR CLIENTS ENVISION SUSTAINABILITY By Dick Corolewski

O ver the past six months, we’ve been telling a series of sustainable development (SD) stories in Surges.

In May, we briefly introduced the Envision™ (Envision) rating system (see sidebar). In July, Peter Catchpole sketched the big-picture scope of SD and helped us under-stand the urgency of its adoption. Catchpole followed that up in September by unveiling an application being developed by POWER that can help users measure the impact of SD in transmission line design.

This issue, we’re calling upon POWER employees who have significant client contact (PMs/PEs and others) to understand and embrace sustainability by earning their

Envision Sustainability Professional Credential (ENV SP) from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI). The reason is clear: it’s just a matter of time before our clients start asking us questions about sustainabil-ity, and Envision offers a great way to make sense of the issue as it relates to infrastructure projects.

Increased client interest

POWER is seeing more and more RFP/RFQs calling for general information on our internal environmental, energy and sustainable design practices. We don’t have a formal count, but according to Ann Brunelle, a marketing and proposal development coordinator with the Power

Delivery Group in Hailey, “I see that kind of request in [approximately] one out of four RFPs. It’s almost a given on RFPs for big companies like Duke Energy.”

There are also examples of RFP/RFQs in the marketplace that are requiring descriptions of Envision experience and a list of ENV SP-credentialed personnel, like the City of Dallas RFQ for upcoming bond projects and the Port of Long Beach RSOQ for its Capital Dredging Program. Others are specifying the use of Envision, like the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority RFP (MWRA No. 6539), which requires the rating system to evaluate the sustainability of alternative pipeline routes.

Still other prospective clients in the marketplace are announcing their commitment to sustainability and Envision, like the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power Bureau of Engineering which will include Envision in its upcoming sustainability training and are “strategizing on how to promote Envision” and boost ENV SP credentials. The City of Thousand Oaks has also resolved to use the Envision Checklist and join ISI.

Some Federal clients are also requiring Envision. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs VA Parking Design Manual & Design Model asks project teams to “consider using the Envision rating system.”

It’s clear that the issue of sustainability is becoming increasingly important to existing and prospective clients. Now is an opportune time to join the ranks of Chun Chin, senior project manager for the Generation Renewable PM Group in Hailey, and Ray Arguello, department manager for the Federal Service CONUS Group in Boise, who both have already earned their ENV SP.

Dialing up POWER’s commitment

Asking for more client-facing employees to embrace sustainability and get their credentials is just another step in POWER’s overall strategy to stay competitive

and continue to deliver value to our clients. “With our sustainability initiative now in its fourth year, POWER has positioned itself well to be ahead of the curve when it comes to sustainability,” says Jack Hand. “We want to make sure we’re ready when the subject comes up in a client meeting.”

The ENV SP online credentialing course take a little over a day to complete, and consists of a series of training

videos and passing a seventy-five question test. ISI’s only prerequisite is that you hold a four-year degree or have a Professional Engineer (PE) or equivalent professional designation. As a charter member of ISI, POWER receives a substantial discount.

According to Chin, the training is well worth it. “Having a basic

understanding of the Envision rating system and checklist allows you to gauge a project’s sustainability during the planning and design stage where it might not otherwise happen at all.”

Get started today

If you are a qualified, client-facing employee and are interested in getting your ENV SP, you first need to get approval from your division manager. Then email Linda Nielsen at [email protected] who will help you get started and keep track of your progress. If you have questions on the credentialing process, feel free to contact Chun Chin at [email protected] or Ray Arguello at [email protected].

For everyone else interested in the subject of sustainability, visit sustainableinfrastructure.org.

Dick Corolewski is the manager of the Federal Services Division in Boise and is also the chair of the sustainability committee.

WHAT’S ENVISION?

» A rating system for sustainable infrastructure (“non-building” projects).

» Developed by the Institute for Sustainable Development, (ISI), and the Zofnass Program

for Sustainable Infrastructure at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

» POWER is a charter member of ISI and chair of the Envision Energy Committee. To

learn more, go to sustainableinfrastructure.org.

We want to make sure we’re ready when the subject comes up in a client meeting.


HERE ARE THE BENEFITS OF POWER’S PLAN THAT ARE FAIRLY TYPICAL:

» The 4% match. For each dollar you invest in your plan, POWER will contribute a dollar, up to 4% of your salary each pay period.

» Automatic enrollment. You don’t have to do anything to get started. The automatic enrollment gets you set up with a safe investment avenue that includes POWER matching contributions.

» Vesting. As of 2007, POWER adopted a Safe Harbor program for its 401(k), so all employee and employer matching contributions are 100% vested. This means that all the money employees contribute and POWER matches to an individual 401(k) plan belongs to the employee.

» Rollover. If you already have a 401(k) plan from a previous employer, you can rollover those funds into your new POWER plan.

By Jenny Rapley

POWER invests in its people—and that includes their retirement. While most companies today offer their

employees a 401(k) retirement savings program, POWER’s version, according to benefits/payroll/compensation

manager Steve Souders, “is one of the better plans when compared to many in the marketplace.”

IS IT TIME TO CHECK YOUR 401(k)?

November is a good time to make any changes to your contribution

percentage as any potential bonus received in December will

have your percentage applied to it. If you want to take a look at

your 401(k) account, go to www.prudential.com/online/retirement.

WITH A POWER 401(k), YOU ALSO ENJOY A COUPLE MORE BENEFITS THAT NOT ALL PLANS TYPICALLY OFFER:

» Profit Sharing. At POWER’s discretion, if a profit is recognized at the end of the year, qualified employees may receive a portion of the board-approved, profit-sharing contribution in their 401(k) plan. (Note: profit sharing has a vesting schedule, you must have worked for POWER for four or more consecutive years [1000 hours/year or more] to earn your 100% vesting at a rate of 25% per year of service.)

» Lower Fees. POWER takes its fiduciary responsibility very seriously and negotiates low administrative fees for the company and individual participants.

Learn more about the program by entering “401K” into the POWER Portal search bar. You can also call Jenny Rapley at 208-288-6170 or [email protected], or Steve Souders at 208-288-6394 or [email protected] with questions, comments or concerns.

Jenny Rapley is a benefits coordinator in Boise for the Operations HR Group.

NOT YOUR EVERYDAY

November 2013 Surges 15

BENEFITS THAT SPEAK VOLUMES

If you are looking for ways to generate public support for your clients’ projects,

consider an economic impact analysis.

POWER’s Jerry Herrera is an economist

for the Strategic Communication Division

in Freeport, Maine. She can quantify

the economic effects of a project on a

municipality, region or state, including

the direct and indirect expenditures and

employment associated with it over time.

If public controversy is a concern, she can

design, implement and analyze surveys to

gain valuable stakeholder insight.

Herrera and the Strategic Communication

team can then translate the often complex

statistical results into an easily understood,

powerful presentation ideal for general audiences and interest groups.

AS A POWER PM, you know that your clients’ projects are increasingly coming under public scrutiny. It’s

no longer just large infrastructure projects that attract community interest; it’s also smaller substation and

facility siting and any project that might impact backyards, viewsheds or natural resources.

WHAT’S THE PUBLIC’S STANCE ON YOUR PROJECT?

READY TO DISCUSS YOUR PROJECT?Contact Elizabeth Swain at 207-869-1408 or Connie Gemmer at 207-869-1409.

To learn more, visit powereng.com and click on Stakeholder Involvement on the

Environmental Services landing page.

You can add value for your clients by helping them strengthen their relationships with the public. POWER’s Strategic Communication specialists can help your project and your clients manage public controversy and prevent costly delays to your schedule.

A customized, proactive approach

“The Strategic Communications folks have been extremely helpful to me behind the scenes on a large controversial project,” says Lynn Askew, a senior project manager for the Environmental Services PM Group. “Their decades of siting experience enable them to anticipate problems and offer solutions.”

Our goal is to help you design a strategic communications program that matches your project’s needs. We’ll help you develop a proactive, community-based approach that starts with insightful analysis and ends with targeted strategies—all customized for your project.

PHOTO: EMILY GERVAIS


DO YOUR CLIENTS KNOW ABOUT THIS CAPABILITY?

If their project crosses federal land, uses federal money or

requires a federal permit, then cultural resource studies are

required. Certain states, like California, also have similar

requirements. POWER has cultural resource people in Anaheim,

Phoenix, Freeport, Boise and Austin. Contact Glenn Darrington

at [email protected] for any questions.

beer cans is culturally significant. On the other hand, if stone flakes and tools from 5,000 years ago are found, the argument could be made that this site is important, and therefore something should be done about it.

Now, archeologists love finding stuff, and we are there to fulfill a FERC requirement; but we are first and foremost working for our client’s best interests. We have, as they do, an ethical obligation to protect the resource, and the best way to do that is to avoid it. That’s often the simplest, most cost-effective solution: to redesign that vault toilet or boat ramp for some other location. If it cannot be avoided, then a full-scale excavation might be required and that can be costly and cause delays in the construction project.

So we need to be ready to respond to design changes. For example, POWER archeologists had test pits laid out and were ready to dig when the client announced a redesign of that portion of the project. They sent over a new map with new test pit locations.

That’s our job—to quickly assess a site, provide feedback to the client and be ready to move to another location if necessary. Then, when the field work is complete, we write a formal report that documents our findings.

Prehistoric Idaho

The Swan Falls field team is led by POWER-Boise’s Trish Webb, a cultural resource specialist who is supervising eight experienced archeologists (and temporary POWER employees).

The team is investigating sites that are anywhere from 500 to 6,000 years old. “Our team has recovered prehistoric pottery, arrowheads, flakes from making stone tools, and a fire pit that has burned mammal, fish, and bird bone, and burned freshwater mussel shell,” says Webb. “Several arrowheads near the fire pit are a type made 200 to 1,000 years ago.” She adds, “We’re very lucky to have a project in our own state and so close to home. Swan Falls Dam is in the Snake River Birds of Prey

Conservation Area and I can’t think of a better place to have my office for six weeks.”

Many of the sites have been damaged by animal burrowing and off-road vehicles. Two of the eight sites turned out to not have as many artifacts as expected—good news for the client. Another location, where a

road is being planned, is providing much more material than expected: stone tools, hundreds of flakes, and many pieces of shell.

The field work will wrap up in October 2013, and has been very successful for POWER’s Cultural Resource Group. According to Glenn Darrington, cultural resources department manager, “The team is on budget and on schedule, and the client has told us they are ‘very pleased about how things are being managed.’ That’s good news for one of the single biggest projects POWER has won from Idaho Power in many years.”

Jim Rudolph is a senior cultural resource specialist for RAM’s Cultural Resource Group in Boise.

Thirty miles south of the POWER-Boise office is Idaho Power’s Swan Falls Dam. Originally built in 1901 to generate electricity for the nearby mines of Silver City, the dam is currently undergoing a relicensing effort under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Part of this process involves conducting cultural resource studies where the river levels are affected by the dam’s operation.

As the owner, Idaho Power is required by FERC to protect cultural resources. But the commission also mandated the utility to improve recreational facilities along the Snake River to accommodate off-road, boating and fishing enthusiasts. To meet FERC’s requirement, the utility came up with a plan to construct parking turnarounds, boat ramps and bathrooms—12 separate facilities in all.

The challenge was to find optimal locations for the facilities that minimize impacts to archeological sites. Idaho Power had already hired a couple of firms to do a major inventory of all the sites up and down the river. This initial survey was just to identify those sites that should be avoided or investigated more fully at a later date.

Using the results of the inventory, the utility selected construction locations that included eight

archeological sites. POWER Engineers was hired to perform archeological studies to determine if any of the eight sites were considered “significant” according to the National Register of Historic Places.

Protecting by avoiding

Under federal laws, Idaho Power must first identify what each site contains and decide if it’s significant or not. If it is, they have to decide what to do about it. The key is the definition of “significant.”

For example, five old beer cans on the side of the road technically constitute an archeological site—physical evidence of past human behavior. But are they the site of an important event? Do they increase our understanding of the past? Are they associated with a famous person? Using the National Register criteria, it’s extremely unlikely that the site of five

DIGGING PITS. AVOIDING PITFALLS. The Swan Falls archeology studyBy Jim Rudolph

Idaho Joneses.

(Above) Archeologists dig

a test pit one meter by one

meter and sift all the soil

through 1/8-inch screens.

Prehistoric artifacts.

(Above) Examples of

burned mammal bone,

burned mussel shell and

obsidian and flint flakes.

PHOTO: JIM RUDOLPH

PHOTO: JIM RUDOLPH

We are first and foremost working for our client’s best interests.


Further Study Required

Microwave Link 3

Microwave Link 1Microwave Link 2

WT1

WT6

WT2WT7

WT3 WT8

WT9

WT10

WT5

WT4

with favorable results in cases of multipath fading problems, but proved to be ineffective in this situation.

At that point, none of the potential solutions were simple or inexpensive. Moving the wind turbine to a new location (only a few hundred feet would have sufficed), or taking it completely out of service, were not acceptable. Designing and building a new microwave repeater site in order to re-route the traffic was too lengthy and too expensive.

In the end, the Client opted to replace the existing microwave system with a fiber-optic link. They opted to partially lease and partially build a fiber-optic system, in order to provide this high-capacity and high-reliability communications channel.

An ounce of prevention…

Even if you are mountain climbing, with no signs of civilization anywhere in sight, there are radio signals all around you, and there could be dozens of microwave links crisscrossing the area.

The potential for this type of interference should not be marginalized. The impact of wind turbines on radio propagation is not easy to understand and not trivial to model and describe mathematically. All the mechanisms for potential dangers have not been sufficiently investigated, even though this topic has become increasingly important with more and more wind farms being constructed.

One way to minimize the probability of interference is to design exclusion zones around microwave links that would be free of wind turbines. Larger than the Fresnel zone, the exclusion zone could provide a margin of safety. Using appropriate software tools, a detailed study of proposed wind-turbine exclusion zones and potential effects on existing radio communications facilities, including microwave links, should be undertaken every time a new wind farm is planned (see figure 2).

A DICEY SITUATIONWind Farms and Microwave Radio InterferenceBy Harvey Lehpamer

When a microwave link owner noticed interference coinciding with the operation of a

newly in-service wind turbine, the wind farm owner (Client) invited POWER Engineers

to analyze the problem.

Although not well publicized, wind turbines can potentially impact nearby radio communications systems, including weather radars, airport radars, broadcasting stations, satellite communications, AM radio and terrestrial microwave point-to-point systems.

The Fresnel zone

The concept of the Fresnel zone is an important part of any terrestrial microwave point-to-point link design, since most of the radio signal is contained inside the ellipsoid that stretches between the two antennas (see figure 1). The goal of the microwave engineer is to design a microwave link with no obstructions inside of the Fresnel zone.

In this analysis, the ellipsoid was 200 feet wide (at its widest point) and 60 miles long. What are the chances that the newly constructed wind turbine’s rotor, or part of it, might fall inside that relatively narrow zone? Normally, the chances would be small, but with hundreds of wind turbines concentrated in one small area, the likelihood increases.

POWER’s first task was to prove (or disprove) the claim that the wind turbine really is inside of the Fresnel zone of the microwave link.

A mathematical model was developed specifically for this study and showed that the wind turbine was indeed inside of the Fresnel zone.

Radio interference analysis

This conclusion was still not definite proof that the interference was caused by wind turbine, so POWER, with support of Client’s and microwave link owner’s field staff, conducted a month of testing and analysis. This second step showed an increased bit error ratio (BER) on the microwave link data traffic coinciding with the time of the day when the wind turbine was operational.

The problem was amplified by the fact that the microwave link itself was under-designed and already pushed beyond the limits of its capabilities and performance.

No simple mitigation

After confirming that the wind turbine was responsible for the problem, the Client hired a specialized radio installation company to try to mitigate the problem by climbing the communications tower and up-tilting the parabolic dish antennas by a very small angle, typically less than one degree. This method is often used

Figure 1 (Left).

Fresnel zone ellipsoid

obstructed by the

wind turbine.

Figure 2 (Below).

Desktop analysis of a planned

wind farm and existing

microwave links in the area

It is important to try to anticipate and prevent potential problems before they happen; the cost of such a study is practically negligible in comparison with the cost of mitigating a previously undiscovered problem(s).

Harvey Lehpamer is a senior project engineer for the Power Delivery SAS Group in San Diego.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Harvey Lehpamer, Ph.D., P.Eng., has published a number

of technical articles and books, including: “Transmission Systems Design Handbook for Wireless Networks,” Artech

House; “Microwave Transmission Networks–Planning, Design and Deployment,” McGraw-Hill; and “RFID Design Principles,”

Artech House.

Dr. Lehpamer is also teaching a course, “Microwave Transmis-

sion Engineering,” at University of California – Extension, in San

Diego. He can be reached at [email protected].


A NEW PHOENIX OFFICE RISESBy Lisa Conlon

POWER’s two existing Arizona offices in

Phoenix and Tempe have been consolidated

into a new Phoenix location to meet the

growing opportunities throughout the Southwest.

Doors opened for business

With Randy Simpson and Mark Etherton leading the charge, the move went very smoothly. This should come as no surprise since POWER has opened a total of four Arizona locations over the years.

The new office is located just south of E. Northern Avenue off SR-51 and features ample space to accommodate POWER’s combined 43 employees representing RAM, Power Delivery, Communications and POWER Constructors.

“Consolidating these two locations will give us an even greater presence in the Copper State. The combined talent pool will also allow us to better serve our existing client base while continuing to build new relationships,” said Simpson, project manager and business unit director for the Western Region Environmental Services Group.

The move will also increase accessibility to key clients like Salt River Project (SRP), Arizona Public Service (APS) and First Solar.

“Out of this World” tale

The new office is about 1.5 miles from Dreamy Draw Dam and Recreation Area, a quaint park next to Piestewa Peak, where people can ride horses, picnic and bird watch. It’s also the site of an alleged UFO crash in October of 1948. Legend has it that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers supposedly built a dam/reservoir on top of the crash site in order to conceal the wreckage.

Unlike the dam, the story doesn’t really hold water. The crash occurred in 1948, but the reservoir wasn’t built until 1973.

Its function is to prevent flooding of the surrounding neighborhoods during monsoon season. Still, it’s a cool story.

So whether you are in the neighborhood for business or UFO sightings, be sure to stop in and say “Hi,” or “Live Long and Prosper,” or maybe “Nanoo Nanoo.”

Lisa Conlon is a coordinator for the Corporate Communications Department and is located in Boise.

NEW LOCATION

7600 North 16th Street, Suite 130Phoenix, AZ 85020Main: 602-812-5800 Fax: 602-812-5899

POWER Phoenix 2013.

Back Row: Glenn Darrington, Bill Palumbo, Evan Chavez, Casey

Rahmeier, Genevieve Gonzales, Mauricio Rodriguez, Randall Simpson,

Jason Nodurft and Randy Stauffer. Front Row: Tanya Martinez,

Mark Etherton, Melanie Palumbo, Heidi Horner and Aaron Wolf.

Not pictured: Emily Belts.

T’IS THE SEASON TO THANK OUR CLIENTSPOWER’s Annual Holiday MailingBy Karla Rinckwald

Next month, POWER’s clients across the country and overseas will receive our holiday greetings in distinctive POWER style. We send cards and calendars that feature

specially commissioned artwork; past years’ subjects have been stampeding wild horses, an abandoned pioneer cabin in remote mountains, and an eagle in flight ready to capture its prey…Currier and Ives, this is not.

Back in the mid-80s POWER wanted to send something special that highlighted our Western roots to a few special clients. Idaho artist and part-time rodeo cowboy Don Gill did a pencil sketch of a cowboy and signed and numbered a hundred copies of it. POWER staff slid the copies into pre-printed calendar frames, sent a few out to clients and passed the rest out to employees at the annual Christmas party. And a tradition was begun.

Today, POWER will send about 9,000 copies of this year’s print, either as a wall calendar or holiday card to our clients and employees.

Leading this massive effort is Liliane Béguelin (Bay’-guh-lin), marketing and proposal development coordinator for the Power Delivery Division in Hailey. Her work begins in mid-June, discussing ideas for the upcoming print with Don Gill. These days, the subject matter downplays cowboys, but emphasizes typical Western scenery and wildlife.

The most time-consuming and critical effort is identifying the appropriate client contacts who will receive a calendar or a card—and from whom. Liliane works with POWER’s marketers and PMs—nearly 200 this year—to decide who should be on the list. Calendars, due to their size and cost, are reserved for clients for whom we are currently working or anticipate more work. Recipients include an insert card signed by the POWER sender. Other clients receive holiday cards.

Liliane works with each POWER sender to confirm recipient lists and to resolve a myriad of special cases, such as when more than one marketer wants to send a calendar to the same client contact. Her greatest tool is the Deltek Client Relationship Management database, which helps her sort and identify the card and calendar recipients.

Once the lists are finalized and the cards are signed, Liliane leads a team of employees who come in on Saturday in mid-November to handle the massive process of assembling the calendars, cards and mailing labels, and sorting each piece for mailing.

In keeping with the original tradition, employees also receive calendars, which are hand-signed and numbered by Don Gill. With nearly 2,000 employees, organizing the signed prints take nearly as much time to assemble as it does for clients.

If you have any questions about POWER’s holiday mailing, please contact Liliane at 208-788-0520.

Karla Rinckwald is a marketing and proposal coordinator area lead in Hailey for the Power Delivery Division.

Jingle Bells!

The holiday cards, sent to clients who don’t receive

calendars, feature the same original artwork as the

calendar but with an added holiday touch. Holly and

bells adorned last year’s print of wild horses.

POWER elf.

Vern Brander, mailroom

technician in Hailey,

sorts the calendars by

zip code. Bulk mailing

saves on shipping costs

for this massive mailing.

HOLIDAY MAILING BY THE

NUMBERS *2012 figures

3,849*

2,473*

2,000est.

724*Annual Man-hours

Calendars to Clients

2013 Calendars to Employees

Holiday Cards to Clients

PHOTO: CHRISTINE OLSON

PHOTO: TESSICA SHIELDS

New Licenses, Milestones and Wins


The WireNew Licenses, Milestones and Wins

WINS

MILESTONES

NEW LICENSES

NEWLY LICENSED OR CERTIFIED

PROFESSIONALS

Alec Johnston, EIT – Maine

Robert Yender, PE – Michigan

Roubaix Louw, Pr Eng – South Africa

LICENSES ISSUED BY COMITY

OR RECIPROCITY

Alex Kladiva, PE – Texas

Brandon Winzurk, PEng – Nova Scotia

Chad Hayward, PE – Alaska, Washington

Jason Logan, PE – Texas

Jeff VanSickel, PE – New Mexico, Oregon

Joe Cote, PE – Ohio

John Kumm, PEng – Nova Scotia

John Squire, PE – Kansas

Miller Bradley, PE – Iowa, South Carolina

Molly Burrell, PE – Idaho

Randy Grass, PE – Vermont

Rick Liposchak, PE – Washington

Ryan Laughy, PEng – Nova Scotia

Sivasis Panigrahi, PE – Kansas

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Please visit Licensing and Registration on

Portal, or feel free to contact Tonya Goitiandia,

license administrator.

SEPTEMBER

Jeremy Clark 15 years

Jason Logan 5 years

Seth Thompson 5 years

Robin Taylor 5 years

Dave Wixom 5 years

Ariel Varland 5 years

Matt Cabral 5 years

Mark Conroy 5 years

Greg Hall 5 years

Lorelei Johnston 5 years

Ray Onyon 5 years

Jen Virnig 5 years

Mary Watts 5 years

Cindy Whitmill 5 years

OCTOBER

Vicki Johnson 25 years

Warren Cordingley 25 years

Mark Andren 10 years

Scott Tetmeyer 10 years

Nathan Bingham 10 years

Adolf Nel 5 years

Jake Thomas 5 years

Corey Schelske 5 years

Brett Nolte 5 years

Kenny Volock 5 years

Kerry-Leigh Viljoen 5 years

Joe Mooney 5 years

Dave Ainaire 5 years

Richard Hood 5 years

Andrew Sarkany 5 years

FACILITIES

» Fisher & Sons, Field Support-Boardman,

Hays, Jim, $562K

» Maple Leaf Foods, Pure Link PH2, Douglass,

Patrick, $216K

» Hawaiian Electric, Ka La Nui Solar Intconn

OE, Sheridan, Philip, $216K

» Hawaiian Electric, Kalaeloa Solar Intconn OE

Services, Sheridan, Philip, $216K

» Hawaiian Electric, Malaekahana Solar

Intconn OE, Sheridan, Philip, $216K

» Hawaiian Electric, Na Pua Makani II Wind

Intconn, Sheridan, Philip, $216K

» Hawaiian Electric, Nanakuli Solar Intconn

OE, Sheridan, Philip, $216K

» Glanbia, TF Whey Cooler Up Fin, Guth,

Ben, $130K

» Kraft Foods Global, Proj Ellen & CMX

Startup, Esquer, Hector, $97K

» Kraft Foods Global, Combi Automation,

Braaksma, Erick, $96K

» ConAgra Foods, CF00301 Sq Tubs Startup

Sup, See, Kyle, $87K

» Hawaiian Electric, CIP BESS, Harper, Chris,

$70K

» Nestlé USA, Onsite Field Support, Driggers,

Jim, $56K

» Kraft Foods Global, Newberry Checkweigh

Proj Supp, Esquer, Hector, $56K

FEDERAL

» Raytheon, Bess Bus B Electrical Design,

Guth, Ben, $248K

» MK Engineers, Interconnect Reqmts Study,

Arguello, Ray, $162K

» Tetra Tech, LT 64, Codling, Jim, $99K

GENERATION

» Ronald NS Ho & Associates, Lana’i

Desalination Plant, Hall, Greg, $810K

» Geothermal Development, To 006 Devel of

Gen Projects, Long, Mike, $618K

» ENEL Green Power North America, Stillwater

CSP Project, Chin, Chun, $525K

» Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners,

Project Lake Ind Engineering Svc, Lee, Matt,

$291K

» Vince Davies & Associates, Pepel & Tonkolili

Project, Venter, Wynand, $146K

» Clean Energy Systems, Oxy-Fuel Test Sys

Rev A, Murray, Gerry, $127K

» Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ulubelu 3&4

Bid Support, Harris, Steve, $103K

» Eaglefin Structured Finance Mauritius,

Various Projects, McArthur, Martin, $55K

INTERNATIONAL

» Geothermal Development, GDC Task 003

Downhole Pump, Cavanaugh, John, $88K

PCI–POWER DELIVERY

» ITC Holdings, MVP ITC Project #2, Wixom,

Dave, $75K

PTE

» HDR Constructors, Rubart 115 kV

Substation, Donald Priebe, $418K

» Bergelectric Contractors, Indian Wells

Tennis Garden, Jarrod Dimock, $115K

» Vitesse, Facebook 2013 Maintenance,

James Davison, $89K

» EC Company, PDX Cup Swgr Upgrade,

James Davison, $84K

» Puna Geothermal Venture, (Puna) Maint Prot

Relay&Trans, Gary Nichols, $52K

RAM

» Metropolitan Sewer District, CSO 217/483

Phase A, Limke, Chris, $769K

» Metropolitan Sewer District, CSO/483 SC

Phase B, Limke, Chris, $313K

» Inst Costarrience De Electricidad, ICE Tamis

& Inspection 2013, English, Marcus, $226K

» Los Angeles Dept of Water & Power, TA41

BRRTP Cultural Survey, Jensen, Jim, $225K

» American Electric Power, Env Ett Lobo-N.

Edinburg 33047, Meaux, Lisa, $225K

» American Wind Energy Association, Draft

GPWE HCP, Mertz, Kely, $211K

» Idaho Power, Swan Falls Archeo Testing,

Rudolph, Jim, $186K


SOVSR–Final EIR, Ryan, Thom, $125K


Process Hzrd Analysis Rvw, Ryan, Thom,

$119K

» San Diego Gas & Electric, SDG&E Additional

TCM Support, Erpelding, Chris, $108K


I-75 Reconst, Bollmer, Katie, $103K

» Kaukauna Utilities, Kaukauna ARCFM

Designer, Rytilahti, Mark, $93K

» Riverside County Transportation Dept, Rvrsd

Cnty Glmn Curve Realign, Morgan, Court, 90K

» Entergy, Porter T Forest 138 kV T-Line,

McClanahan, Gary, $87K

» CH2M Hill, Plant-Wide Noise Survey,

Karaffa, Mark, $87K


Phase C, Limke, Chris, $86K

» Marathon Petroleum, Desktop Analysis

Cadiz-Canton, Bauer, Bruce, $85K


Castaic Crk Bio Services, Ryan, Thom, $76K

» Guam Power Authority, Guam CIS into GIS,

Wilke, Larry, $74K

» American Electric Power, Comm Plan Ft

Wayne, Gemmer, Connie, $70K

» PacifiCorp, Clearance Violation Remedy,

Morgan, Court, $70K

» University of New Hampshire, Title V Air

Permit FY14, Donnelly, Tim, $65K

POWER DELIVERY

» National Grid, NEEWS Interstate Reliability

Program, Alexiades, Andy & Thompson, Fray,

$26.0M

» Ameren, IL Program Management Support,

Hanna, Bill, $2.3M

» Ameren, MO Program Management Support,

Hanna, Bill, $1.3M

» ITC Holdings, Thistle Substation, Cholewa,

Ed, $1.3M

» PECO Energy, Southwark Retire PH 2&3,

Thornton, John, $650K

» Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Sandy

138 kV T-Line, Wright, Shayne, $613K

» South Texas Electric Cooperative, Cotulla

Substation, Erwin, Frank, $499K

» PEC/Michels, Michels-Ngrid Eastover T/C,

Denny, Chris, $429K

» Ameren, IL Rvrs–Kans W-Faraday 345 kV,

Mues, Rich, $308K

» American Electric Power, Broken Bow-Lone

Oak 31164, Ferguson, Jon, $303K

» Ameren, Mtgy-Hlls Line Inspections, Hanna,

Bill, $297K

» American Electric Power, Lon Hill Support,

Wright, Shayne, $293K

» American Electric Power, Rio Hondo

Support, Wright, Shayne, $293K

» American Electric Power, N. Edinburg


» Ameren, Viaduct-Cape Clk Routing Svcs,

Oesch, Rett, $284K

» PEC/NSTAR Electric & Gas, NSTAR-Srvcs

Stat 961 Trnsfrmr, Erwin, Frank, $282K

» Ameren, IL Rvrs–Austn-Merdosia 345 kV,

Mues, Rich, $280K

» Ameren, IL Rvrs–Merdosia-Hrlmn 345 kV,

Mues, Rich, $280K

» Silverado Power, Silverado Power Antelope,

Sutton, Dave, $278K

» NextEra Energy Resources, Palo Duro Wind

Project, McGrew, John, $275K

» Florida Power & Light, Conservation 500 kV

Sub Eng, Schultz, Eric, $271K

» US Magnesium, 138/69 kV Substn

Expansion, Cecy, Iraja, $269K

» Ameren, IL Rvrs–Pana-Austin 345 kV, Mues,

Rich, $260K

» Ameren, IL Rvrs–Sugar Crk-Kans W 345 kV,

Mues, Rich, $260K

» Ameren, IL Rvrs–Sidney-Rising 345 kV,

Mues, Rich, $257K

» Ameren, IL Rvrs–Faraday-Pana, Mues, Rich,

$247K

» Valley Electric Association, Bob Tap 230 kV

T-Line, Walbert, Michael, $238K

» Oncor Electric Delivery, 2013 PMO Support,

Van Calcar, Karl, $199K

» First Solar, FSE Stateline Solar OE, Jurica,

Barney, $191K

» NV Energy, Clark Rebuild, Keeling, Jay, $178K

» Ameren, IL Rvrs–Herle-Miss Rvr 345 kV,

Mues, Rich, $155K

» Oncor Electric Delivery, GM to Watson,

Ferguson, Jon, $154K

» Oncor Electric Delivery, P Ennis Ck-138 kV

Emgcy CAPS, Van Calcar, Karl, $152K

» Seattle City Light, Dsgn/Cnst Stndrds W/

Comp, Olson, Scott, $150K

» Wood County Electric Cooperative, Yantis

Sub Addition, Wagner, Aaron, $150K

» American Electric Power, Nelson Sharpe


» American Electric Power, SAG NWC Mrtn-S

Cosho PVID 37510, Ferguson, Jon, $141K

» Omaha Public Power Dist, NERC Mitigation

PH 2, Samson, Randy, $135K

» Ameren, Huts-Negs Line Inspections, Hanna,

Bill, $125K

» Oncor Electric Delivery, P Tex Harvey-Install

69 kV CB, Van Calcar, Karl, $123K

» Oncor Electric Delivery, P Caddo Mills Hwy

66 69 kV CAP, Van Calcar, Karl, $118K

» Ameren, Henn-Ogle-1556 Line Inspection,

Hanna, Bill, $111K

» City Of Gillette, Donkey Creek Substation,

Walbert, Michael, $110K

» Acciona Energy North America, NV Solar 1

T-Form Replace, Sutton, Dave, $106K

» The Hopi Tribe, Hopi Tribe GSA Support,

Etherton, Mark, $100K

» PacifiCorp, Dixonville Relay Repl, Thompson,

William, $93K

» PacifiCorp, Meridian Relay Repl, Thompson,

William, $93K

» Oncor Electric Delivery, P Trinidad-Rplc

CB3580, Van Calcar, Karl, $90K

» NorthStar Technology, WAPA Xmsn Plan

Aug13-July14, Etherton, Mark, $89K

Note: Wins are new projects with the highest dollar

amounts for each division from the previous two months.

Not all new projects are listed.

2

2

3

1

5

4

POWER News, Notes and EventsThe Back Page1Super Smart HomeUsing a PLC (programmable logic

controller) similar to the ones he uses

for power plant projects, POWER-

Hailey’s Justin Diedrick designed a

control system for his custom-built

house in Bellevue, Idaho. Diedrick can

now control his HVAC, solar system,

hot water, radiant floors, exhaust

fans, water supply and more. The

subcontractors were skeptical, but they

had no idea who they were dealing

with…

Read the whole story on POWER portal:

Just click on the Surges IN•depth

link in the Corporate Announcements

section.

4Founding FatherPOWER-Portland’s Kirby Davis (left)

and POWER-Orlando’s Ken Fortier

(right) pose with the founder of Power

Line Systems, Dr. Alain Peyrot (center),

at the 2013 PLS-CADD Advanced

Training in Madison, Wisconsin. PLS-

CADD is the industry standard for

transmission line design software,

and includes finite element modeling

for cables and nonlinear structures

perfected by Dr. Peyrot. Davis and

Fortier incorporated portions of the

advanced training into POWER’s

internal PLS-CADD training class.

5We are #1Surges took 1st place at the 2013

Society for Marketing Professional

Services’ (SMPS) Marketing

Communications Awards. We

competed against leading Architecture,

Engineering and Construction

companies across the country. Credit

for the award goes to a very long

list of POWER employees who have

contributed their time and talent over

these many years. Thank you, everyone!

2Now That’s POWER DeliveryPOWER-Houston’s Ruben Corrales had

a dream: to better organize PTE’s test

equipment and tools to efficiently serve

POWER’s customers in the field. That

dream became a reality with the help

of POWER’s fleet coordinator Kathy

Springs, who located two Ford E350s

with Knapheide utility bodies on a

dealer’s lot in Houston. Add plates,

insurance, decals and fuel, and they

were ready to roll.

3FORE CharityPOWER-Knoxville’s Bruce Bauer

(right), along with POWER-Cincinnati’s

Drew Carson (left) and Tom Chaney

(center), participated in Marathon

Petroleum Company’s Charity Golf

Tournament in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.

POWER sponsored the threesome of

biologists and one of the course holes.

Proceeds for the event went to the

American Cancer Society and the local

community in Montgomery County.

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