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Swanton Village Electric Department

Integrated Resource Plan

2015 - 2034

Part 2 – Transmission and Distribution

Presented to the Vermont Public Service Board

June 20, 2016

Submitted by:

Vermont Public Power Supply Authority

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Swanton Village Electric Department

2015 Integrated Resource Plan

Transmission and Distribution Section

INTRODUCTION

This component of the Integrated Resource Plan (“IRP”) of the Swanton Village

Electric Department (“Swanton”) addresses the transmission and distribution

components of Swanton’s electric system. Consistent with collaboration

between Swanton, Vermont Public Power Supply Authority (“VPPSA”) and the

Vermont Public Service Department (“PSD”), the format of this Transmission

and Distribution (“T&D”) section of the IRP follows the key topics contained

within the addendum to the PSD’s 2011 Vermont Electric Plan.

Swanton’s Electric Department was incorporated in 1894. Like most of

Vermont’s smaller municipal utilities, many of its utility functions, such as

office staffing, are carried out by employees who also have responsibilities in

other aspects of village municipal operations. Swanton remains guided by the

Vermont Public Service Board (“PSB”) rules as well as by the American Public

Power Association’s (“APPA”) safety manual. Well-established practices keep

Swanton operating efficiently.

Swanton’s service territory is located in Franklin County in northwest Vermont,

in an area where weather events- especially in recent years- have been both

challenging and at times highly localized. Its 56 square mile service territory

can be seen on the Vermont Utility Service Territory map found below, and it

encompasses the Village of Swanton Village as well as portions of three of the

surrounding towns: Swanton, Highgate, and St. Albans. About 70% of

Swanton’s customers are served within the village and town portions of

Swanton. Swanton serves approximately 3,632 retail customers. In addition to

the retail customer load served within its service territory, Swanton provides

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transmission service to an island of customers in Highgate, which is in

Vermont Electric Cooperative’s (“VEC”) retail franchise territory.

In 2014 Swanton’s peak demand in the winter months was 9,611 KW and

10,356 KW during the summer and shoulder months. Annual energy sales for

2014 were 56,758,783 kWh (pulse load at system boundary) and the annual

load factor for 2014 was 62.6%.

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SERVICE TERRITORY

SWANTON VILLAGE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT

Swanton Village

Electric Department

Service Territory

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SWANTON VILLAGE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT

SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Swanton-owned Generation:

Unit Nameplate Rating (kW)

2014 Annual Generation (kWh)

Unit #1 1,170 4,562,200

Unit #2 1,012 2,037,800

Unit #3 3,420 16,830,500

Unit #4 6,500 16,912,700

Unit #5 585 1,813,690

History of the Orman Croft Hydroelectric Plant – Highgate Falls:

The Highgate Falls power dam has been a dependable source of power for the

evolving energy needs of northwestern Vermont since 1797. By the early

1900’s, the facility played an important role in providing electricity to the

2011 2012 2013 2014 2011 2012 2013 2014

Residential sales (440) 3,136 3,137 3,150 3,139 24,551,885 24,414,839 24,276,736 24,507,293

Rural sales 66 57 58 63 2,153,244 2,168,808 2,141,236 2,077,879Small commercial and industrial sales

(442) 1000 Kw or less 425 432 429 418 24,868,379 25,926,939 25,874,589 25,903,550Large commercial and industrial sales

(442) above 1,000 Kw 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Public street and highway lighting (444) 0 3 3 3 365,891 258,036 248,774 223,484

Other sales to public authorities (445) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Interdepartmental sales (448) 11 10 9 9 1,185,373 1,102,089 900,123 997,776

Total 3,638 3,639 3,649 3,632 53,124,772 53,870,711 53,441,458 53,709,982

Y/Y 0% 0% 0% 1% -1% 1%

Number of Retail Customers Retail Sales (kWh)

2011 2012 2013 2014

Peak Demand kW 10,317 10,576 10,657 10,356

Peak Demand Date 07/21/11 06/21/12 07/19/13 07/01/14

Peak Demand Hour 18 15 16 13

Annual System Peak Demand

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citizens of Swanton and Highgate, and through regular maintenance and

equipment upgrading, has retained that position.

The first dam at Highgate Falls was built during the late 1700’s by private

entrepreneurs to power the saws, mill stones, and forges of the various

businesses occupying the Highgate Falls site. In 1894, Swanton Village

purchased the rights to develop the site for hydroelectric power.

In 1915, the Vermont General Assembly authorized Swanton Village to develop

its water power at Highgate Falls and for that purpose to build, construct, and

maintain a suitable power plant or improve its present plant with all buildings,

dams, flumes, and other equipment necessary and to borrow money or issue

bonds for that purpose. Numerous improvements were made to the project and

by 1920, the project structures included a concrete dam, woodstave penstock,

concrete surge tank, and powerhouse. The powerhouse contained two 900 kw

generating units, necessary switchgear, and transmission terminal equipment.

The original dam was constructed to elevation 164.8 feet above sea level and

had provisions for five feet of flashboards, giving the dam the potential for a

maximum power pool at elevation 169.8 ft asl.

The flood of November, 1927 brought waters 17 feet over the dam. There came

a period of modification and refurbishment which began with the installation of

a 900 kW Westinghouse generator (initially operated in 1928) in the unit # 2

position. During the early thirties, a steel surge tank was built inside the

existing tank, and butterfly valves were installed between the generating units

and the surge tank. The addition of a General Electric 900 kW generator

(initially operated in 1932) in the powerhouse unit # 1 position completed the

configuration until the 1950’s.

The 1952-1954 changes included reshaping the dam cross section, raising the

pond level from elevation 169.8 ft. (above sea level) to 170.8, construction of a

new intake facility and conduit system, raising the height of the steel surge

tank and expanding the powerhouse to enable the 1954 installation of a

Westinghouse 2,800 kW generating unit.

In 1986, the three generating units went through a major overhaul to improve

their generating performance. In 1990, another phase of powerhouse

improvement was completed. The powerhouse was once again increased in size

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and a National Industrial generating unit with a capacity to produce 5,800 kW

was installed in the new area, as well as new switchgear, and computerized

controls. This phase of the project was dedicated to Orman E. Croft who, at the

time, was the Village Manager for the Village of Swanton, VT. A few years later,

another major change at the dam site would take place. In 1994, the most

recent phase of improvement was completed. The intake structure was raised

to elevation 193 ft. also, a new trash rake was installed, a new dam site

powerhouse was built, and as for the dam; the elevation of concrete was

brought up to elevation 175 ft. and an inflatable rubber dam provided by

Bridgestone was installed on top of the concrete. The addition of the rubber

dam would bring the pond level up to elevation 190 ft. as it remains today.

In 2011, a 5th turbine and generator was installed into the overflow power

house. The installation of this unit was the final step of the upgrades started in

1994, but was halted due to budget restrictions. The 5th turbine went into

production in March 13, 2012.

About the Orman Croft Hydroelectric Plant:

The Orman Croft Hydroelectric Plant consists of five hydroelectric generators with the

following characteristics as a combined operating system:

Capacity: 9.85 Megawatts (total of all units generating simultaneously).

2014 Annual Production: 41,783 MWH.

Water Flow: 1800 cubic feet of water per second.

Minimum Flow at bypass: 35 cfs, 200 cfs at the tailrace

Head Water Elevation: 190 feet above sea level.

Tailwater Elevation: 105 feet above sea level.

The whole is less than the sum of its parts. In other words, when the units are

generating simultaneously, the maximum total output is lower than that

maximum total output of each unit if each unit were generating separately.

Output Capacity for each Generator:

“Rated kW” signifies the actual output kW capacity of the generator, not the kW

nameplate rating.

Unit # 1: General Electric AC Generator installed in 1930. Excitation is

provided by a Basler static exciter. Voltage: 7200 volts, Speed: 360 revolutions

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per minute, Cycles: 60hz., Phase: 3,Power Factor: 0.8, rated kW: 1,170

Kilowatts. The Turbine unit is a Francais type, Rated Horsepower: 1,340 hp,

Discharge: 224 cubic feet of water per second.

Unit # 2: Westinghouse AC Generator installed in 1928. Excitation is provided

by a Basler static exciter.

Voltage: 7200 volts, Speed: 360 revolutions per minute,

Cycles: 60 hz., Phase: 3, Power Factor: 0.8, rated kW: 1,012 Kilowatts. The

Turbine unit is a Francais type.

Rated Horsepower: 1,340 hp, Discharge: 224 cubic feet of water per second.

Unit # 3: Westinghouse AC Generator installed in 1954. Excitation is provided

by a Basler static exciter.

Voltage: 7200 volts, Speed: 257 revolutions per minute.

Cycles: 60 hz., Phase: 3, Power Factor: 0.8, rated kW: 3,420 Kilowatts. The

Turbine unit is a Francais type,

Rated Horsepower: 4,070 hp, Discharge: 558 cubic feet of water per second.

Unit # 4: National Industrial AC Generator installed in 1990. Excitation is

provided by a Basler static exciter.

Voltage: 7200 volts, Speed: 211.8 revolutions per minute, Cycles: 60hz, Phase:

3, Power Factor: 1.0, performed kW: 4,994 Kilowatts. The Turbine unit is a

Francais type, Rated Horsepower: 7,600 hp, Discharge: 900 cubic feet of water

per second.

Unit #5: OSSBERGER turbine, Hitzinger generator: construction and

installation into minimum flow building in September 2011, and in production

in March 13, 2012. Unit is a horizontal intake, horizontal shaft double cell,

cross flow design impulse type turbine, with draft tube effect. Rated at static

Head =44.6ft=13.6m. Full flow= 200cfs, partial flow= 35cfs. Normal speed 900

rpm with an over speed of 2010 rpm. Tp parent power is 650KVA at full flow

with a frequency of 60Hz. Rated kW: 484 Kilowatts.

Transmission System:

Swanton owns approximately 6.4 miles of 46KV transmission line. This line

connects Highgate substation, Elm Street substation, and Leader substation

and has a feed to the Swanton Peaking generator unit. This line connects the

Highgate substation and the Elm Street substation to the VELCO Highgate

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substation at the east end, and can also make a connection to the VEC Island

circuit at the western end. The Swanton system can also be configured and

split up so that the Elm Street substation can be on the VEC Island circuit,

and the Highgate substation can be connected to the VELCO substation. This

dual feed into the Swanton System creates the ability for Swanton to have two

different sources feed these substations. The transmission line is located in the

towns of Highgate and Swanton. The circuit consists of 4 miles of 336 ACSR

conductor with an additional 0.4 miles of 336 ACSR conductor connecting the

Swanton Peaker generating project’s transformer. There is also 1.8 miles of

4/0 ACSR conductor connecting the 46kV lines on Route 78 to the Leader

substation mainly via a cross-country path.

Swanton has a SCADA (“Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition”) control over both the transmission switches and the substation reclosers.

Distribution System General:

The distribution system includes approximately 120 miles of line operating at 12.5 KV located in the towns of Swanton, Highgate, and St. Albans.

Substation name and description:

Swanton currently operates three substations. Each substation is briefly

described below.

SWANTON SUBSTATIONS

Elm Street Substation

The Elm Street substation consists of a 10,000 KVA step down transformer

from 46 KV primary to 12,470/7,200 volt grounded secondary. There are three

reclosers that feed the load normally fed from this substation. The reclosers are

ABB vacuum units that also have potential transformers tied to them to take

advantage of their microprocessors for data gathering. Swanton downloads the

load data monthly to see what the load balance is as well as what the system

power factor on each circuit is. This allows for the correct sizing of capacitor

banks for each circuit. Swanton presently maintains each circuit power factor

range between 92 and 97 percent. As stated before, the controls of these

reclosers are self-standing but also are operated by remote control by SCADA.

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Highgate Substation

Highgate substation is located at the Orman Croft generating station. The

transformer at this site is a 15,000 KVA step down with a 46 KV primary and

12,470/7200 volt grounded secondary. There are three load circuits there as

well. These circuits are also remotely controlled as well. The load data is

recorded from this location as well. In addition to these three load circuits, the

power plant generation is connected to this bus by way of an underground

circuit that goes to a 10,000 KVA transformer with a primary voltage of

12,470/7,200 volt grounded primary with a 7,200 volt delta secondary. The

operational voltage for the four hydro generators at this location is 7,200 volts

delta.

Leader Substation

The Leader substation was originally built by Vermont Fasteners for their heat

treat hardening process of their product. It was later purchased by Swanton

Village from Leader Evaporator Co. when it purchased the building from

Vermont Fasteners. The transformer is rated at 49.2 kV delta to 13.8Y/7.968

kV with a 7,500 kVA base load capacity. The transformer was configured to

operate as close as possible to Swanton’s system requirements and three GE

VR1 voltage regulators were added to the step down side to maintain the proper

system voltage requirement. Located between the transformer step down

points and the regulators is an ABB vacuum recloser that provides fault

protection and data collection which is all accessible and remote controlled by

SCADA. This load circuit has a power factor range of 98 to 100 percent.

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Circuit Description:

Circuit Name Description Length

(Miles)

# Customers

by Circuit

Outages by

Circuit 2014

1200 12.4 KV three-phase branching to 7,200 Volt single-phase

17.3 240 4

1201 12.4 KV three-phase branching to 7,200 Volt single-phase

16.8 867 4

1202 12.4 KV three-phase branching to 7200 Volt single-phase

4.3 783 3

1203 12.4 KV three-phase branching to 7,200 Volt single-phase

27.6 492 12

1204 12.4 KV three-phase branching to 7200 Volt single-phase

35.6 429 13

1205 12.4 KV three-phase branching to 7200 Volt single-phase

5.7 352 4

L50 12.4 KV three-phase branching to 7200 Volt single-phase

12.9 520 9

There are seven circuits in total. The voltage of the circuits is regulated at the

substation bus. Swanton does not consider any of its circuits as particularly

long. Circuit 1205, is single-phase right now, but Swanton has plans to move it

to three-phase soon.

As shown in the table (above), in 2014, circuits 1203 and 1204 had the

greatest number of outages. Both of those circuits are also the longest in length

as compared to the other circuits. There were twelve outages on circuit 1203

and thirteen outages on circuit 1204. For all circuits combined, there were a

total of forty-nine outages.

The following table (below) shows the outage details for circuit 1203. The

majority of the outages were caused by accidents.

Circuit

Name

Outage

Cause

Code

Outage Cause

Description

Outages

by Circuit

2014

1203 4 Equipment 3 1203 6 Accidents 7 1203 7 Animals 2 Total 12

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The following table (below) shows the outage details for circuit 1204. The

outage causes were more varied on circuit 1204 than those on circuit 1203.

Animals caused five out of the thirteen total outages on this circuit.

Circuit

Name

Outage

Cause

Code

Outage Cause

Description

Outages

by Circuit

2014

1204 1 Trees 3 1204 2 Weather 1 1204 4 Equipment 1 1204 6 Accidents 3 1204 7 Animals 5 Total 13

To prevent future outages and maintain reliability, Swanton continues to trim

trees and add animal guards to equipment.

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A One-Line Diagram of Utility System:

The following one line diagram of the system was updated on 11/19/2015.

ONE LINE DIAGRAM

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The IRP should contain a detailed description of how and when the utility

evaluates individual T&D circuits to identify the optimum economic and

engineering configuration for each circuit, while meeting appropriate

reliability and safety criteria.

Swanton evaluates T&D circuits on an ongoing basis in order to identify the

optimum economic and engineering configuration for each circuit. Swanton

reviews the Rule 4.900 Outage Reports, system reviews, as well as annual

budgets in order to correct and/or prevent any issues that may materialize. A

copy of Swanton’s Rule 4.900 Overall Assessment of System Reliability report

can be found at the end of this document.

Page A-10 T&D System Evaluation

1) The current power factor of the system, and any plans for power factor correction; Swanton monitors the power factor on each individual circuit on a weekly basis. Swanton maintains a power factor of 95 percent or higher. There is no need for power factor correction at this point in time.

2) Distribution circuit configuration, phase balancing, voltage upgrades where appropriate, and opportunities for feeder back-up; Swanton is planning to change over the single-phase to three-phase on

the 1205 circuit in order to redistribute load, as was mentioned in the

previous “Circuit Description” section (above).

Swanton monitors each circuit’s neutral current and phase current and

also physically moves load from one phase to another.

3) Sub transmission and distribution system protection practices and

methodologies; Swanton’s sub transmission is protected by fuse protection. The three-phase main feeders are protected by reclosers and by the presence of down system protection fuses. If Swanton observes that load is growing in a specific area of the system, it monitors with load loggers and adjusts fuse sizes as necessary.

4) The utility’s planned or existing “smart grid” initiatives such as advanced metering infrastructure or distribution automation;

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Swanton has and continues to explore the prospective installation of dual water and electric AMI systems. From Swanton’s recent attendance at multiple Smart Grid Summits, Swanton observed that many of the AMI vendors at the summit were startup companies that have gone out of business since the day of that summit. It is not clear that those vendors necessarily have the staying power to keep their companies viable, and Swanton does not want to overburden ratepayers with a product that will become obsolete soon after purchasing it. Swanton’s strategy is to wait for technology to mature so that prices become more economical, technology becomes more stable, and AMI vendor staying power becomes stronger. Swanton continues to explore the products of various vendors while maintaining its strategic analysis of full-village services.

Like the other VPPSA member electric utility systems, Swanton is part of the docket 7307 collaborative process that continues in both formal and informal means. The ongoing participation of Swanton and other VPPSA members in various facets of “smart grid” explorations has underscored both the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead. On the challenge side, the cost effectiveness of AMI infrastructure is significantly less clear in small utilities like Swanton, where relatively limited savings around meter reading and other labor costs are combined with a terrain that challenges the efficacy of many wireless AMI systems. On the positive side, participation by VPPSA and member systems in municipal smart grid summits and other events have shown that prospective electric-water-sewer AMI applications may have efficiencies and synergies not available in electric only installations, though cost allocation in such situations must be done carefully to avoid subsidization issues. As we continue to collaborate with our Vermont utility colleagues regarding “lessons learned” from their experiences, Swanton will be in a good position to make technically and financially sound decisions regarding the timing and specifics of the smart grid applications that will be coming. Swanton is of course mindful of the many facets of the evolving grid, such as rapidly expanding net metering development, heat pump installations, and the advent of electric vehicles. Working with VPPSA, Efficiency Vermont, and other stakeholders, Swanton stays abreast of these developments and the strategies needed to maintain a safe, reliable, and economically viable distribution system.

While definitions of “smart grid” vary even within the industry, Swanton is also mindful of the increasing importance of cybersecurity concerns,

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and the relationship of those concerns to technology selection and protection. While Swanton is not presently required to undertake NERC or NPCC registration, VPPSA is a registered entity, and the presence of the Swanton Village Manager on the VPPSA Board of Directors provides Swanton with knowledge and insight regarding ongoing cybersecurity developments and risks. On a more local level, Swanton endeavors to purchase and protect its IT systems (with assistance from VPPSA as needed), in a manner intended to minimize security risks to the system and its ratepayers. Swanton remains mindful of the balance between the levels of cybersecurity risk protection and the associated costs to its ratepayers.

5) Re-conductor lines with lower loss conductors; Swanton’s strategy for improving system efficiency involves monitoring actual system losses, and implementing system improvements to reduce system losses. After the ice storm of 1998, Swanton’s full system was re-conductored with lower loss conductors. When it comes to re-conductoring lines with lower loss conductors the advantages of the costs associated with lower loss conductors must be balanced against the higher costs associated with their purchase. Swanton assesses system performance vs. the cost of system reconductoring in making these equipment choices. Swanton’s load losses have decreased steadily over the past recent years. Swanton calculates load losses at the end of the year. Swanton’s load losses have fallen from 7.17% in 1997 to 4.36% in 2014.

6) Replacement of conventional transformers with higher efficiency transformers; Swanton replaced many of its transformers after the major ice storm of

1998. It is Swanton’s practice to always buy new transformers, rather

than used transformers. In its transformer purchase analysis, Swanton

compares the transformers of three manufacturing companies. Price is a

primary factor, efficiency is taken into account. Swanton tries to buy

U.S.A made transformers where possible.

7) Conservation voltage regulation;

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Elm Street Substation and Leader Substation both have voltage

regulation equipment. The Highgate substation currently does not have

conservation voltage regulation equipment on it. Swanton has evaluated

the cost/benefit analysis of installing conservation voltage regulation in

the Highgate Substation, and it has determined that it would be cost

prohibitive to do so.

The goal for end-of-line voltage is to stay within the bandwidth of 2.5%

on either side of the 120 Volts. It’s monitored by the regulators, LTC,

and by VELCO, and by taking voltage readings at different intervals.

8) Implementation of a distribution transformer load management (DTLM) or similar program (See Equipment Selection and Utilization Standards below); Swanton monitors distribution transformer load management via SCADA and makes changes as necessary.

9) A list of the locations of all substations that fall within the 100 and 500 year flood plains, and a plan for protection or relocation of these facilities. None of Swanton’s three substations fall within the 100 and 500 year flood plains.

10) A current copy of the utility underground Damage Prevention Plan (DPP) (or provide a plan to develop and implement a DPP; if none exists). The majority of Swanton’s lines are overhead lines. As the quantity of Swanton’s underground lines increase, Swanton will become increasingly more involved with the Damage Prevention Plan. Swanton requires inspection of all underground lines prior to burial. This will be performed by Swanton Village Electric Employees. Currently, Swanton does not have a Damage Prevention Plan in place. Swanton will collaborate with other VPPSA utilities to develop a more formal Damage Prevention Plan.

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Discuss the utility’s process for selecting transmission and distribution

equipment (i.e., net present value of life cycle cost, evaluated on both a

societal and utility/ratepayer basis).

When replacing transmission and distribution equipment, Swanton solicits

three different quotes before making a purchase. Swanton installs equipment

that is tried-and-true. These purchases are based on pricing and reliability.

Set out program to maintain optimal T&D efficiency. Report program

progress.

Reliability

System reliability is important to Swanton’s customers. Swanton has a number of initiatives underway to improve reliability. Each of these initiatives is described below.

Automatic Reclosers

Swanton uses automatic reclosers to attempt to reestablish service after short-duration outages. Also, Swanton fuses all of its tap lines.

Animal Guards

Swanton believes that animal guards are a cost-effective means of reducing animal contact and the associated service interruptions. Swanton utilizes animal guards on its system to protect against outages. Animal guards are installed in all new installations, where appropriate and animal guards are retrofitted on existing equipment after an incident has occurred.

Fault Indicators

Swanton currently uses fault indicators in the industrial park underground.

Swanton typically utilizes them for developments where there is more than one

transformer. One of the benefits of fault indicators is a quicker response time

for trouble-shooting and repair. As a result, Swanton’s system reliability and

customer satisfaction improves.

Pole Inspection

Swanton has an informal pole inspection program to assure that poles in its

service territory are in good and reliable condition. Also, Swanton always

inspects poles that are in the vicinity of normal field work. Due to the size of

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the system, Swanton has a good understanding of the age and condition of the

poles. Swanton has been planning to upgrade to a GIS system to help monitor

these types of items more formally.

Equipment

Swanton evaluates its equipment through inventory stock. Swanton looks at

trending and overall system performance.

Under Swanton’s procurement & purchase policy, as previously mentioned,

Swanton solicits three different quotes, before making a purchase. Also under

this policy, three different quotes are required before making any planned

purchase greater than ten thousand dollars.

System Maintenance

Swanton has an unwritten system maintenance program. Swanton performs

annual oil checks on transformers, weekly substation inspections, and has

thermal imaging devices in the field.

Energy Losses and System Efficiency

In order to reduce line losses, Swanton converted the system voltage of three

circuits in Village in early 2000.

As stated in the (above) “Re-conductor lines with lower loss conductors”

section, Swanton’s losses have been steadily decreasing over the years.

Does the utility use the NJUNS database to track transfer of utilities and

dual pole removal?

Swanton currently uses the NJUNS database to track transfer of utilities and

dual pole removal.

What is the utility’s philosophy regarding relocating cross-country lines

to road-side?

Swanton relocates cross-country lines to road-side locations, where cost-

effective, in order to reduce maintenance and outage costs as well as in order

to reduce impacts. It is Swanton’s plan to continue with this process.

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Describe vegetation management plan, per page A-13, and complete the

table on page A-14.

Explain why it's a “least cost program” including details on tree species ,

annual growth rates of these species, and vegetation techniques,

including when, where, and how herbicides are used.

Swanton has a vegetative and brush management program with a

schedule to routinely clear under its distribution lines. Swanton will

undertake to review that program, utilizing inspections and feedback

from its outage reports, to assure that the program maintains the

vegetation and brush within its rights-of-way appropriately and to make

modifications to the management program in the event that the program

is not maintaining adequate clearances of brush from the lines.

First and foremost, Swanton visually inspects the system to determine

the problem areas that need immediate attention. Swanton monitors its

vegetation along the distribution and transmission lines annually.

Swanton trims along its transmission lines approximately every three to

five years and trims along the distribution lines about every five to seven

years. Swanton has a spreadsheet that lists where and when it trims.

Swanton’s outage reports show that the trimming plans have been

working successfully.

All lines are trimmed to the edge of the legal right-of-way. The trimming

width on either side of the line is fifty feet.

Swanton has a firm budget on trimming, which is approximately one-

hundred thousand dollars per year; the miles of trimming are determined

during the inspections and are dependent on growth due to climate

conditions. Eighty percent of the system is road side, so monitoring is

fairly simple. The other twenty percent is monitored on foot.

The trimming cycle used to be much longer, but Swanton shorted it in

order to maintain adequate clearances of brush from the lines. Since the

ice storm of 1998, Swanton has become much more aggressive with its

tree trimming. Swanton’s ratepayers have also become more in favor of

tree-trimming, as it has seen first-hand the effects of what untrimmed

trees can do to reliability of the system during an ice storm.

In addition to its vegetative and brush management program, Swanton

has a program to identify danger trees within its rights-of-way and to

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either prune or remove those trees. Again, the success of this program is

measured by whether danger trees are a root cause of system outages.

Danger trees are identified by utility personnel while patrolling the lines,

reading meters, or inspecting the system. Once a danger tree is

identified, it is promptly removed if it is within Swanton’s right-of-way.

For danger trees outside of the right-of-way, Swanton contacts the

property owner, explains the hazard, and with the owner’s permission

removes them. Where permission is not granted, Swanton will

periodically follow up with the property owner to attempt to obtain

permission.

Occasionally, Swanton finds that some trees are out of its reach. In those

cases, Swanton hires a contractor to do the trimming work.

Total Miles Miles Needing Trimming Trimming Cycle

Transmission 6.2 0 3-5 year average

Distribution 120 20 5-7 year average

Distribution Lines Vegetative Management:

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Amount

Budgeted

$74,000 $78,000 $80,000 $100,000 $110,000 $110,000

Amount

Spent

$60,072 $71,306 $82,556 $120,642 x x

Approx.

Miles

Trimmed

20 acres

(6 miles)

11.22 acres

(1.9 miles)

20.4 acres

(3.4 miles)

52.72 acres

(8.5 miles)

20 acres (3

miles)

20 acres (3

miles)

Transmission Lines Vegetative Management:

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Amount

Budgeted

$5,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $0 $10,000

Amount

Spent

$22,694 $9,513 $7,500 $5,000 x x

Approx.

Miles

Trimmed

5 acres 21 acres 1 acre 1 acre 0 acres 1 acre

Swanton did not budget for trimming on its transmission lines for 2016 as all

of the trimming was done in 2015 so there was nothing left to be trimmed.

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Utilities should monitor the # of tree-related outages as compared to the

total number of outages, and provide this information

2011 2012 2013 2014

Tree Related Outages 8 9 10 11

Total Outages 54 80 60 49

Tree-related outages as % of total outages 15% 11% 17% 22%

Swanton’s Public Service Board Rule 4.900 Electricity Outage Reports,

reflecting the last three years (2012-2014) in their entirety, can be found at the

end of this document.

One of the issues of significant concern in the operation of any distribution

system is reliability of service to its retail customers. As part of the recognition

of that concern, Swanton has committed to performance standards for

reliability that measure the frequency and duration of outages affecting its

customers. There are two measures for the frequency and duration of outages.

The Public Service Board’s Rule 4.900 defines them as:

System Average Interruption Frequency Index ("SAIFI"): Customers

Out, divided by Customers Served. SAIFI is a measure of the

average number of times that the average customer experienced an

Outage.

Customer Average Interruption Duration Index ("CAIDI"): Customer

Hours Out, divided by Customers Out. CAIDI is a measure of the

average length of time, in hours, that was required to restore

service to customers who experienced an Outage.

Swanton has committed to achieve performance levels for its distribution

system below an index of 2.4 for SAIFI and 2.5 for CAIDI. Swanton maintains a

record of and reports on all its system outages, including the root cause of an

outage. While some outages cannot be prevented, there are a number of

specific, cost-effective steps that can be taken to maintain or improve system

reliability by working to eliminate the potential for some outages to occur and

making changes that will promote reduced outage times when an unavoidable

outage does occur.

Baseline 2011 2012 2013 2014

SAIFI 2.4 1.6 1.9 0.8 0.4

CAIDI 2.5 2.2 2.4 2.1 2.0

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Describe storm/emergency procedures, such as securing contract crews,

dispatch center, participating in utility conference calls, updating

vtoutages.com.

Like other Vermont municipal electric utilities, Swanton is an active participant

in the Northeast Public Power Association (“NEPPA”) mutual aid system, which

allows Swanton to coordinate not only with public power systems in Vermont,

but with those throughout New England. A Swanton representative is also on

the state emergency preparedness conference calls, which facilitate in-state

coordination between utilities, state regulators and other interested parties.

Swanton uses the www.vtoutages.com site during major storms especially if it

experiences a large outage that is expected to have a long duration. Swanton

believes it is beneficial to inform the Public Service Department if it is

experiencing these types of outages.

Discuss last T&D studies, and plans for future studies.

Two twenty-year system studies have been conducted for Swanton. The first

study was done in 1968, by Burns and Roe, Inc., and the second was done in

1996, by PLM Electric Power Engineering. The content of these two studies is

available upon request.

At this point, Swanton does not have any system study plans. However, when

renewable projects are proposed, a system study may be initiated to determine

the impact. Any future studies will depend on growth resulting from additional

loads and from generation projects.

Has a fuse coordination study been conducted, and has it been

implemented?

In 2008, John Askew of L.N. Consulting, Inc. assisted Swanton Village Electric

in the coordination of their electric circuit feeders and fusing. Final reporting

was informal and correspondence was carried out using email. Technical one-

line diagrams and associated fault curves as well as recommended recloser

control settings were included within the correspondence. Some fine

adjustments have been made to recloser response settings, since the major

coordination effort, to satisfy FERC, NERC, and ISO-NE requirements. Copies

of the emails (12 pages) and technical drawings (13pages) are available if

desired.

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Historical Capital Projects over last three years (2012-2014):

Historical Capital Projects 2012-2014

2012 Hydro Plant Plant upgrades $496,358 New turbine $1,342,909 Total: $1,839,267 Distribution Plant New transformer $468,477 Plant upgrades $90,605 Total: $559,082 Transportation $0 Total: $0

2012 Total: $2,398,349

2013 Hydro Plant Plant upgrades $237,147

Total: $237,147 Distribution Plant Plant upgrades $33,847

Total: $33,847 Transportation $0 Total: $0

2013 Total: $270,994

2014 Hydro Plant Plan upgrades $164,948 Total: $164,984 Distribution Plant Plant upgrades $52,351

Total: $52,351 Transportation Dump cart $6,134 Total: $6,134

2014 Total: $223,469

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Future Capital Projects for next three years (2015-2017):

Future Capital Projects 2015-2017

2015 Hydro Plant Repair of Unit #1 Butterfly Valve $90,857 Replacement of Unit #4 Governor $90,000 Total: $180,857 Distribution Plant Gore Road Upgrade $3,263 South River Street Upgrade $8,241 Canada Street Upgrade $12,161 King Street Upgrade $3,309 Total: $26,974 Transportation Bucket Truck $296,990 Total: $296,990

2015 Total: $504,821

2016 Hydro Plant Fabrication of Wicket Gates

Bolts/Bushings $30,000 Replacement of Unit #1 Governor $90,000 Total: $120,000 Distribution Plant Tanner Memorial Drive $6,176 Brown Avenue $4,990 Taylor Drive $4,914 Bosworth Street $2,514 Total: $18,594

2016 Total: $138,594

2017 Hydro Plant Replacement of Unit #2 Governor $90,000 Total: $90,000 Distribution Plant Thibault Parkway $3,339 Winters Court $9,169 John Drive $4,611 Greenwich Street $8,215 Total: $25,334 Transportation

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Bucket Truck $350,000 Total: $350,000

2017 Total: $465,334