Unit Asset Replacement Program

“ElectraNet had a requirement to replace various HV assets at approximately twenty of their substation sites.

The customer 

ElectraNet delivers safe, affordable and reliable solutions to power South Australian homes and businesses. Their transmission network is a crucial part of the electricity supply chain and is used to safely deliver electricity throughout South Australia including regional and remote areas. ElectraNet specialise in asset and project management and their clients include SA Power Networks, Enerven and large directly connected clients.

The opportunity 

The 2013-18 Regulatory Control Period (RCP) identified unit asset replacements of nominated assets, located at twenty of ElectraNet’s substations across South Australia.

These assets are predominantly ones known to have a high failure history and represent a safety risk, are unreliable or are at the end of their effective technical lives, as the cost of maintenance outweighs the replacement value of the asset.

The solution 

This project was a demanding program of work as it was across brownfield substation sites, which can be challenging, as there are often unforseen issues that can arise on brownfield sites.

The project involved a number of skills for the broad range of maintenance tasks that were required as part of the program. This included, procurement, outage management, development of switching sheets, and temporary protection and control, SCADA and telecommunications, substation construction, and substation commissioning.

The project included replacement of substation primary plant components; primarily, 132kV and 275kV, which included: CT’s, CVT’s, CB’s, power cabling, control cabling, bus bar supports, as well as control and protection systems, including, relays, SCADA, and telecommunication networks. This required significant outage management to coordinate the works across the twenty sites.