AR 041806 Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories

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ITEM #16 CITY OF COLTON AGENDA REPORT FOR COUNCIL MEETING OF April 18, 2006 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Jeannette O►ko, Electric Utility General Manager SUBJECT: Approve Purchase to Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. C/O Matzinger Keegan, Inc., for Protection Relays and Communication Processors for the Electric Utility, in the Amount of $40,250.00 DATE: April 10, 2006 BACKGROUND: The Electric Utility is replacing the existing line protection relays with up to date microprocessor -based multifunction relays. Protection relays trip dedicated devices offline when a fault occurs. These modem relays and communication processors provide valuable load data and historical trending for use by the City's Electrical Systems Engineer. The replacement activity is planned as part of the electrical system upgrade. DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: Protective relays are extremely critical for power system reliability. Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) protective relays have been proven reliable and are an industry leader. These relays have event reporting capability that records valuable information during faults, which can be easily retrieved through communication processors for analysis. This information can reduce outage time, and identifies potential future problems so that they can be addressed before an actual outage occurs. SEL protective relays and communication processors were specified by the City for many similar and more complex projects. A few of them are indicated below. • Feeders and transformers at Hub Substation • Feeders and transformers at Century Substation • Feeders and transformers at Drews Substation • Generation at Century Substation • Generation at Drews Substation • Land Fill Generation Project • Generation at Agua Mansa Power Plant At present, SEL protection relays and communication processors are being installed for the Hub and Century Substation 12 kV relay replacement project. With all such past activities, work history, and excellent experience with SEL, the City has standardized SEL relays for the Hub, Century, Drews, and SCE Colton Substation transmission and distribution relay replacement project. SEL also has the necessary tools and qualified personnel to support the proposed activities in most efficient, cost effective, and timely manner. At the Council meetings of August 6, 2002, July 1, 2003, and March 15, 2005 Council approved the purchase of protection relays from Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. as part of our protection relay standardization.