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Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited

EB-2010-0142
Exhibit F1
Tab 1
Schedule 3
ORIGINAL
Page 1 of 7


DISTRIBUTION OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE 1
2
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE 3
Preventive Maintenance is intended to maintain or improve customer service reliability, 4
extend equipment life and ensure employee and public safety. Preventive Maintenance 5
represents the work required to enable THESL distribution assets to function as specified 6
and to promote continued reliable system performance. This work entails the inspection 7
and overhaul of distribution assets and replacement of specific components at fixed 8
intervals. Preventive Maintenance program requirements are prescribed in THESLs 9
Annual Plant Maintenance Manual. Preventive Maintenance is derived from RCM II, 10
which is designed to determine the optimal maintenance tasks for assets within their 11
operating context. Optimal, in this sense, means the most cost effective maintenance 12
tasks so that everything spent on maintenance is spent where it will do the most good to 13
ensure reliability, safety and compliance with environmental requirements. 14
15
As all preventive maintenance programs are derived from RCM analyses, each program 16
represents the most cost-effective alternative for maintaining a specific class of assets. A 17
more frequent maintenance cycle may not be more effective for maintenance of assets 18
and may actually induce failures; a less frequent cycle would lead to more costly failures 19
over time and over the population of the asset class. 20
21
DISCUSSION 22
Distribution assets and their components are subject to deterioration and failure over 23
time. Appropriate maintenance practices increase the probability that assets will continue 24
to operate as expected over their life cycle and help protect against major equipment 25
failures and associated reliability problems. Maintenance programs are designed to 26
reflect the fact that asset integrity is influenced by factors such as environmental 27
condition, design, location, age and equipment utilization. Asset deterioration usually 28
Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited
EB-2010-0142
Exhibit F1
Tab 1
Schedule 3
ORIGINAL
Page 2 of 7


manifests itself as a decline in equipment performance, which can negatively impact 1
supply to customers and negatively impact benchmark measures such as System Average 2
Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) and System Average Interruption Frequency 3
Index (SAIFI). 4
5
THESL maintenance crews and qualified THESL contractors are responsible for carrying 6
out, capturing data on and reporting on various Preventive Maintenance activities as 7
outlined in THESLs Annual Plant Maintenance Manual. The following sections discuss 8
some of the types of equipment and activities that are addressed under preventive 9
maintenance. A comprehensive explanation of all activities is contained in the Annual 10
Plant Maintenance Manual. 11
12
Overhead/Underground Distribution 13
The following are some of the activities performed in the Preventive Maintenance 14
program: 15
16
Compact Radial Vaults are inspected twice a year and an inspection checklist is 17
completed to identify any deficiencies. A thermograph is taken of all elbows to 18
identify hot spots and is reported on the checklist. A determination is made as to 19
whether these vaults require power washing and, if so, arrangements are made to 20
schedule this activity. 21
22
Network Protectors are overhauled every three years for those with 120/208V 23
supply and every five years for those with 240/416V supply (the differing 24
maintenance frequencies are due to different mean times between failures for the 25
failure modes assessed during the RCM analysis for each protector type). A 26
checklist is completed to verify that the protector is cleaned, relays are replaced 27
and a function test is performed to verify that loads are picked up automatically. 28
Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited
EB-2010-0142
Exhibit F1
Tab 1
Schedule 3
ORIGINAL
Page 3 of 7


Finally, a protector card is signed and placed on the front door of the protector 1
to clearly identify completion of the maintenance. 2
3
Three-Phase Gang-Operated Switches are maintained every three years to ensure 4
safe and reliable operation during routine and emergency switching. A Certified 5
Power Lineperson completes a checklist identifying the physical and mechanical 6
condition and verifies the correct blade alignment, blade penetration, travel stops 7
and arc interrupter operation. The switches are then lubricated for efficient and 8
proper operation. 9
10
The Network Vault inspection and maintenance program is typically performed in 11
two stages. Initially, inspection and documenting of deficiencies is conducted. 12
Any minor deficiencies are usually repaired during this inspection. Major 13
deficiencies are documented in the Inspection Report for follow-up repairs in the 14
same year as the inspection. Critical deficiencies that pose a safety hazard or 15
impact system reliability are corrected as soon as possible. 16
17
The Underground Residential Distribution (URD) vaults are inspected annually. 18
These vaults are located on public road allowance and usually supply power to 19
residential or small commercial areas. Inspections focus on the electrical 20
equipment and civil structure. Any deficiencies are identified for corrective work. 21
22
Stations 23
THESL Substations use several different types of Circuit Breakers that incorporate 24
Magnetic Air, Air Blast, Vacuum, Sulphur-hexafluoride (SF
6
) and Oil as arc interrupting 25
mediums. Maintenance cycles vary from three to eight years depending on the type of 26
breaker that each substation contains. These units are inspected for leaks and tested to 27
ensure proper functionality in maintaining a reliable flow of power to downstream 28
Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited
EB-2010-0142
Exhibit F1
Tab 1
Schedule 3
ORIGINAL
Page 4 of 7


customers and interrupting the flow of power when required. Carbon dioxide (CO
2
) and 1
FM200 (Waterless Fire Protection) fire protection inspections are performed every six 2
months to ensure that the intended functions are maintained and items such as alarms, 3
sensors and manual electric dischargers are all operating properly. 4
5
Power transformer and Primary Load Break Switches (LBSs) are used to supply the 6
primary load of a power transformer at Municipal Stations with a capacity of less than 10 7
MVA or at customers locations. The work to maintain these devices includes cleaning 8
insulators, contacts and gears; checking alignment; and performing operational tests. 9
10
External Contracts 11
As is detailed in Exhibit C2, Tab 3 Schedule 3, THESL engages a number of qualified 12
external entities to perform preventive maintenance tasks for several programs. External 13
contractors are engaged to provide these services due to the seasonal nature of the work 14
and the specialized expertise and equipment required. This practice of using external 15
contracts is considered utility best practice in meeting seasonal maintenance 16
requirements. As an example, insulator washing is required for only two, six-week 17
periods each year. Equipping a THESL crew with a wash truck that operates only twelve 18
weeks per year is not cost-effective because the truck will remain idle for the remaining 19
40 weeks of the year. As a second example, external forestry contractors are hired for 20
their expertise and experience in tree-trimming services. 21
22
The tree trimming program is a reliability improvement initiative. Overhead distribution 23
systems are prone to tree branch contacts resulting in feeder outages. To reduce the 24
frequency and impact of tree contacts, a tree trimming program is used to maintain 25
adequate clearance between tree branches and overhead conductors. 26
Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited
EB-2010-0142
Exhibit F1
Tab 1
Schedule 3
ORIGINAL
Page 5 of 7


Starting in 2008, THESL adopted and implemented a Reliability-Based tree trimming 1
program. It is a departure from the traditional fixed area and cycle approach. The new 2
methodology takes into consideration the reliability performance of each feeder from tree 3
related outages as well as the cost of pruning. The analysis yields a trim cycle for each 4
feeder that delivers the optimum reliability performance for the amount of resource spent. 5
The approach is considered to be a utility best practice for tree trimming programs. 6
7
THESL also started an additional proactive program in 2008 to supplement the regular 8
pruning work. The intention of the additional work is to prune beyond the regular pocket 9
of tree branches around the power conductors and to identify branches outside of the 10
pruning zone that carry a high risk of breaking and falling on power conductors during 11
adverse weather conditions. Going forward, THESL will monitor all tree-related outages 12
and investigate their cause along with last trimmed information to update and further 13
improve the program. 14
15
The washing of porcelain insulators on 27.6 kV overhead line poles takes place in areas 16
where insulators experience extraordinary contamination from road salts and sprays. 17
Regular pressure washing every six months is performed using clean water to remove 18
contaminants that accumulate over time. Dirt, salt and hydrocarbon deposits, when 19
combined with moisture, can provide a conducting surface or path on the line insulators 20
and lead to current leakage (tracking) which can increase over time. This contamination 21
and tracking can overcome the minimum insulation requirement of the insulator and lead 22
to a flash-over. This insulation failure will trip the upstream protective device and 23
cause a forced outage, which impacts reliability. 24
25
CO
2
cleaning of pad-mounted switchgear reduces the risk of tracking and, ultimately, 26
reduces switch failure. Switches that are found to be dirty can be cleaned while still 27
energized using CO
2
pellets. CO
2
is projected against the insulating surfaces of the 28
Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited
EB-2010-0142
Exhibit F1
Tab 1
Schedule 3
ORIGINAL
Page 6 of 7


switches, releasing the dirt, and thereby cleaning the switch. The CO
2
evaporates into the 1
atmosphere. The CO
2
used in this process is in the form of dry ice produced from 2
industrial CO
2
by-products and does not have any harmful impact on the environment. 3
4
Pressure washing and vacuuming of submersible (underground) transformer vaults keep 5
drains from plugging, thus preventing the submersion of transformers in water mixed 6
with salt, contaminants and other organic debris. This maintenance prevents premature 7
rusting of the transformer chassis and failure of elbow connectors. 8
9
Table 1 summarizes the total preventive maintenance costs for the 2011 Test year, as well 10
as the Historical and Bridge years: 11
12
Table 1: Preventive Maintenance Costs ($ millions) 13
PreventiveMaintenanceCosts 2008Historical 2009 Historical 2010Bridge 2011 Test
OH/UGDistributionAssets 2.8 5.0 4.7 5.0
StationsAssets 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.9
ExternalContracts 3.4 3.2 4.3 4.1
TotalPreventiveMaintenance 8.6 10.8 11.5 12.0

Planned Preventive Maintenance spending increases by $ 0.5 million from the 2010 14
Bridge to the 2011 Test year. Overhead/ Underground and Stations costs increase while 15
External Contract costs decline. Overhead/Underground Distribution program costs 16
increase by $0.3 million primarily due to conversion of the existing network protectors 17
function test task to an overhaul task. In addition, there has been a slight increase in the 18
unit cost for Network Vault Maintenance to reflect field conditions. The Stations 19
Preventive Maintenance program costs increase by $ 0.4 million primarily due to a 20
changing mix of maintenance activities and annual inflationary increases. External 21
contract costs decline by $ 0.2 million from the 2010 Bridge to the 2011 Test year 22
primarily due to the reassignment of costs for the wood pole inspection program from the 23
Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited
EB-2010-0142
Exhibit F1
Tab 1
Schedule 3
ORIGINAL
Page 7 of 7


preventive maintenance budget in 2010 to the predictive maintenance budget in the 2011 1
Test year. 2
3
Preventive maintenance costs increase by $0.7 million from the 2009 Historical year to 4
the 2010 Bridge year. Spending declines for the OH/UG Distribution and Stations 5
Assets, but increases by 1.1 million for external contracts. This increase is primarily 6
attributable to an increase in the tree trimming program costs and an increase in the 7
amount of CO
2
washing for pad mounted switches and transformer vault washing. 8

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