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BEC CO NTRACTO R CREWS WO RK O N BAN D ERA TO MEDINA FEEDER TIE P R OJEC T.
BEC Improves Infrastructure To Increase Reliability AS ELECTRICAL GRID COMPLEXITY INCREASES, BEC PROACTIVELY improves existing infrastructure to maintain reliability for members. As a result, construction and upgrades to the Bandera to Medina distribution line were recently completed, and the line was put into commission February 21. In 2017, Project Manager and Distribution Engineer Thilo Janssen, and Manager of Distribution Design Jim Ward assessed the transmission line that connects our Bandera and Medina substations. They identified the need to rebuild and upgrade a distribution line just to the south of the existing transmission line for enhanced reliability. If the more-than-50-year old transmission line failed, more than 1,600 members in Medina would be without power. “This project represents a purposeful approach to improving the BEC electric system reliability,” said BEC CEO William Hetherington. “The resulting new distribution line serves as an alternate power source to Medina, allowing us to perform maintenance on the transmission line without interrupting power to members, helping the BEC grid accommodate population growth in this area and allowing us to bring fiber broadband internet to members in the Medina area.” Much of the original distribution line connecting the Medina and Bandera substations was constructed from the 1930s to the 1950s using a radial feeder system in which power lines to homes branched off a main line. Since then, the line has operated without issues. However, during an outage, an entire radial “branch” of homes could have lost power. Upgrades and new construction began in mid-2018, and the new line can now isolate outages, thus minimizing the
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number of affected members and helping BEC restore power more quickly. The $2.7 million project included upgrading existing portions of the line with steel-reinforced cable and replacing singlephase with three-phase line. New construction included a twomile detour to avoid cutting down Cypress trees, making the total length of the project 13.23 miles. “By upgrading this line, we can maintain power to Medina, and we also prepare for future improvements to other portions of our system,” Janssen said. “This is one more way we enhance reliability today and for the long term.” Incorporating BEC’s fiber-optic network with the new distribution line allows BEC to bring fiber internet to members in that area and enables BEC to implement distribution automation. Using the fiber-optic network, automation allows BEC engineers to identify, respond to and manage outages directly from the control center in Bandera. This system increases efficiency, reduces costs, enhances grid security and is part of an ongoing effort to deploy “smart” devices on the electric system. Integrating automation into the grid optimizes system performance and helps BEC continue to deliver affordable, reliable power to its members. “Improving our existing infrastructure is one way in which we adhere to our vision to be the best electric cooperative in Texas,” Hetherington said. “By providing innovative cooperative solutions with an unwavering focus on operational excellence, we are able to save money and strengthen reliability as we prepare for the future.”
Co-op Power April 2019 BEC Texas
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