®

USER CASE STUDY

How Emerald PUD

Improved their
Network Reliability

Doug Barab
System Engineer at EPUD, OR, USA Eugene, Oregon, USA
How Emerald PUD Improved their Network Reliability

Emerald People’s Utility District of Eugene, Oregon, proudly senior leadership team. I truly enjoy the variety of what I do, array of responsibilities the department has, it is common for
serves 22,000 meters. Among the challenges of network even if days often seem to run out of hours before they do the plan for the day to change several times before we make
operation in a highly forested area, Doug Barab, System work to be done. it out of the office. We are constantly looking for new ways
Engineer at EPUD has successfully completed a reliability of doing things that can save us time and/or allow us to get
program over the last 6 years, upgrading line reclosers and Not surprisingly, the biggest challenge is finding the time for more done.
substation circuit breakers. Like most senior engineers in the department to get everything done. And with the wide
utilities of these sizes, Doug’s responsibilities span technical
and managerial considerations, everything from electri-
cal systems design, to budgeting, leadership, and even IT
technical support. Throughout this project, Doug has worked
with NOJA Power to deliver switchgear solutions for his chal-
lenges. NOJA Power’s Martin van der Linde sat down with
Doug Barab to discuss electricity network reliability in a US
public Utility District.

Martin: Tell us about your role with EPUD and the

challenges you face

Doug: Emerald PUD serves 22,000 meters in two geographic

areas that cover 560 square miles with just over 10 meters
per mile of distribution line. Like many distribution utili-
ties this size, people often wear many hats. As the System
Engineer, I am responsible for the usual array of engineering
tasks, such as system planning, coordination studies, sub-
station project design, and budgeting. An important aspect
related to this is that I also supervise the two-person crew
that operates and maintains our substations, all the field
equipment such as reclosers and regulators, and take care of
Doug Barab demonstrating OSM Recloser
all metering related activities, including the AMI system. installations at EPUD’s Elmira Substation,
A little less related to the engineering tasks, I also manage Eugene, Oregon.
and operate the SCADA system, including supporting line
crews, whether it’s directing their response during major
outages or providing hot line tags for normal daily work.
I also am responsible for site security and am part of the

NOJA Power User Case Study - How Emerald PUD Improved their Network Reliability 1

NOJA Power OSM Recloser (center) used to replace old bulk oil CB’s (left and
right), OR, USA.
Martin: How did you decide to trial NOJA Power
equipment on EPUD’s network?
Doug: We knew that many of our relays and reclosers and
breakers would approach the end of their expected service
life beginning in 2015. Understanding that replacing them
would require several years and would not come cheap, I
NOJA Power User Case Study - How Emerald PUD Improved their Network Reliability
worked with finance and the board to develop a multi-year
plan to proactively upgrade equipment to mitigate the risk of
outages associated with component failure. In June of that
year, we issued a request for proposal to provide six to ten
reclosers and controllers for each of the next five years. The
proposal weighting was 40% on cost, 30% on an evaluation
of the controller, and 30% on an evaluation of the software
used with the controller. The goal was to find a single solu-
tion for field use, as well as our substations. This would avoid
having to spend time getting familiar with multiple pieces of
equipment and software applications. It would also minimize
the inventory we would need to maintain, which is critical
because the shop and storage is very limited in size.
NOJA Power OSM Recloser under installation in Eugene, Oregon, USA.
We received nine proposals. This was a big decision that
would affect several groups of people within the utility.
While we had experience with (or were at least familiar with)
several of the manufacturers and models, we knew very little
about NOJA. They provided references for several utilities
who shared their experiences installing the units on poles.
More importantly, though, NOJA had a demo recloser and
controller on a trailer, which they brought by our shop (as
well as one of our substations) so that our line crews could
2
see it for themselves. Our linemen and substation wiremen
were impressed with the build quality of the recloser and
control cabinet and liked the compactness of the recloser. I
spent some time with the CMS software to get a feel for how
it was to use and how difficult (or easy) it would be to pro-
gram the RC10 controller. (I also spent significant time with
the software used by other manufacturers.)
EPUD Technician Team installing a NOJA Power OSM Recloser in the Elmira
Substation OR, USA.
In the end, the NOJA proposal scored best in all the evalua-
tion criteria and was awarded the bid. Four items stood out.
First, the software makes it easy to access the many features
that are available.
Second, the design of the components in the control cabinet
allowed for some novel techniques when the HMI was in-
stalled in the control house in our substations.
Third, the integrated voltage sensors on each of the six bush-
ings makes setting it up in the field both simple and foolproof.
The fourth major difference was the price of NOJA’s offering.
The OSM/RC10 was significantly less than any of the other
proposals and because of this it allowed us to replace more
units over the five-year term of the bid for the same amount
of money that was originally secured from the board. De-
NOJA Power User Case Study - How Emerald PUD Improved their Network Reliability
ploying more reclosers in the field has allowed us to increase
reliability to our customers, as well as better prepare EPUD
for dealing with the increase in the danger of wildfire, which
until relatively recently had not been identified as a threat to
our system or the public we serve.
Martin: Tell us about the applications that the NOJA
Power OSM Recloser has fulfilled on your network
Doug: Originally, the goal was to use the OSM recloser in Deploying more
just two applications. The first was in a feeder position in four
of our substations. We have since upgraded the breakers in reclosers in the field
a fifth substation to the OSM. The second intended use was
to replace the existing field reclosers in place. Because it is has allowed us to increase
so easy to install and program the OSM and RC10, deploy-
ment proceeded much faster than expected. It takes about reliability to our customers, as
one day to replace a set of fuses or switch on a pole and
OSM, or a substation recloser and relay panel. Combined well as better prepare EPUD for
with the capabilities of the RC10, I began to consider more
locations and new uses for them beyond simple overcurrent dealing with the increase in the
protection. These include using them as sectionalizers (for
those long feeders that run into timing issues when there are danger of wildfire, which until
a lot of protective devices in series), normal open tie points
(replacing manual gang operated switches) and providing relatively recently had not been
automatic backfeed restoration.
identified as a threat to our
Martin: How long have you been using NOJA Power
equipment, and what has your experience been with the system or the public we serve.
product?
Doug: We have been using the OSM/RC10 since 2015.
Presently we have 15 in service in substations and another
27 in the field. We will deploy another 7 by the end of this
year and plan on another 10 next year. They have been very
reliable with only minor issues, most of which resulted from
installation practices based on installing previous genera-
tion reclosers. Mother nature and distracted drivers have
provided many real-world tests, and they have performed
flawlessly. I analyze every trip to verify proper operation and
timing (the event log makes this very easy to do.) The more
3

time we spend testing and deploying the reclosers, the more
we come to appreciate their design and construction.
As for the software, it seems like every time I use it I dis-
cover another feature or trick to make them more versa-
tile or easier to use. Having said that, perhaps the thing I
appreciate most is that I can go months without touching
the software and can be fully back up to speed within a few
minutes of opening it and connecting to a unit. The software
and/or interface that many manufacturers provide for their
products seem to have learning curves that increase the
NOJA Power User Case Study - How Emerald PUD Improved their Network Reliability
durations in these areas. I also plan on using the downed
conductor capabilities as they continue to evolve. We have
a 3MW generating facility at the local landfill that burns the
gas to generate electricity. When it comes time to replace the
existing intertie, I will consider using an OSM.
Martin: Do you have any advice you’d like to share with
other utility engineers?
Doug: Be open-minded to a new way of thinking about what
capabilities a basic relay should have and how a recloser can
be designed. The RC10 is much more than just an overcur-
rent relay and the OSM isn’t a typical recloser. Together, the
two of them offer a combination of features and convenience
that isn’t easy to find, especially at the price point that NOJA
offers. And the integration of the recloser and controller
makes programming, testing, deploying, and operating them
both easy and reliable.
New NOJA Power OSM Reclosers replacing all
outgoing CBs in an EPUD Substation.
longer you go without using it.
Martin: What further features of the product would you
like to implement on your network in the future?
Doug: We continue to develop our distribution system,
adding tie lines and loop feeds to more and more areas.
This will provide opportunities to increase the number of
customers that are in areas covered by automatic backfeed
configurations. I plan on using the peer-to-peer communi-
cation capabilities built-in to the RC10 to decrease outage
4

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EMERALD PEOPLE’S UTILITY DISTRICT (EPUD)
33733 Seavey Loop Road
Eugene, OR 97405-9614
USA
Phone: (541) 746-1583
Toll-Free: (800) 422-4086
Fax: (866) 284-7953