A window of opportunity to upgrade Medium Voltage switchgear at a San Diego shipyard during holiday down time was jeopardized by a design that wouldn’t pass compliance at the local utility.
Allen Power was given approval to repair and upgrade the medium voltage switchgear at Nassco during a holiday break period.
THE CHALLENGE
Given approval by the utility (SDG&E) to build a 2 section 12kV service entrance, it was apparent that the initial design would not be approved by SDG&E. Time was of the essence and a quick call to the compliance and standards engineer at SDG&E, Steve Abeyta, confirmed that they would not accept the configuration as it was proposed. IEM needed to come up with a solution that could be built and installed during the window of opportunity. It was believed to be impossible to meet both the existing footprint requirement and utility standards.
THE SOLUTION
IEM engineers came up with a unique solution which the utility decided was acceptable and quickly fabricated new custom components to complete the 12kV line-up and fit a very limited footprint. This design eliminated an additional section which was important because the space would not have accommodated the additional equipment. It was such a unique solution that it took a favorable opinion from compliance to move forward because the configuration was neither approved nor excluded in their Service Guide.
THE RESULTS
Without a quick and imaginative solution from IEM, the entire project would have been jeopardized. Missing the short installation window during the holiday shut down would have meant that the more efficient upgrade would have to wait for another year.
