Our panel entitled Making the Decision to Invest in Major Underground Programs featured Georgia Power’s Rachel Williams, Minnesota Power’s Eric Clement, Eversource Energy’s Asim Fazlagic, and PG&E’s Osama Mohammad before 150 attendees at the IEEE PES T&D Expo in Anaheim. Key takeaways:
Georgia Power has 97% customer satisfaction on the 500 miles of underground they have installed since the start of their 15 year program.
Minnesota Power has some very low cost UG installations in their sand regions and gets a two year payback on underground when vegetation management is no longer needed.
Eversource Energy has a 15 year pipe type replacement program for 300
miles of HPFF in downtown Boston. They are constructing a new UG substation 4 stories below grade.
PG&E is piloting a new groundline distribution system (GLDS) as a low cost solution for rock and mountainous areas. They will be adding the use of covered conductors and apply UG data to decision making processes.
All said that customer engagement is fundamental to any program success.
Mike Beehler
Expert Member
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