20031201Nielson Updated Testimony.pdf

IPC- E-93-1 0
N ov. 28 , 2003
Updated Testimony / Exhibits of Jerry D. Nielson for
Idaho Power
RECEIVED illF Il ED
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UTlL IYH:~S COHi11SSION
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IDAHO POWER COMPANY,
THE NEW VILLAGER CONDOMINIUM )ASSOCIATION, INC., A NON-
PROFIT IDAHO CORPORATION
AND ITS MEMBERS, INDIVIDUALLY,
Peti tioner,
CASE NO ~ IPC-93-
vs.
Respondents.
IDAHO POWER COMPANY
DIRECT TESTIMONY
JERRY D. NIELSON
Please state your name and business address.
My name is Jerry D. Nielson, my business
address is 1221 West Idaho, Boise, Idaho.
By whom are you employed and in what
capaci ty?
I am the General Manager,Engineering &
Construction , in Idaho Power Company s delivery business
unit.
What are your job responsibilities?
I am responsible for the engineering and
construction of large projects for transmission and
distribution lines and substations throughout Idaho Power.
Please describe your educational background.
I graduated from the University of Idaho in
1970, with a Bachelor of Science and Electrical Engineering
I received a Masters in Business AdministrationDegree.
from the Uni versi ty of Missouri in 1974.
please provide your employment background.
After serving four years in the U. S. Air
Force , from 1970 to 1974, I began working for Idaho Power
I have been with Idaho Power continuously sinceCompany.
I started with Idaho Power at the Blackfoot Districtthen.
Office, where I spent about a year and half.In 1976, I
relocated to Payette as an engineering leader.In 1977, I
went to Twin Falls serving as an assistant electrical
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
In 1980 I became the electricalsuperintendent.
superintendent at Twin Falls.In 1983, I transferred to
Boise as electrical superintendent.In 1985, I became the
manager for transmission and distribution.In 1991, I
became the general manager of distribution operations.
Since 1995., because of Company reorganization I have had
various short assignments with various managerial
responsibili ties., I was named the East Region General
Manager in 1997 and assumed my present position in January
My employment has been primarily in the transmission-2002.
distribution functions of Idaho Power Company.
please provide a general history of
underground distribution facilities.
The reasons for the institution of
residential underground distribution facilities were largely
The public did not want to see polesdue to visual impact.
Originally even the transformers wereand wires in the air.
Utili ties placed overhead powerinstalled below ground.
pole transformers inside underground enclosures.
Were alternatives to placing the transformers
below ground developed?
Yes, as residential underground service
developed the industry developed the pad mounted
This was a transformer designed for electricaltransformer.
and mechanical functions such as safety, accessibility,
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
mobility, ventilation, ease of operations, reliability, etc.
Is there a safety problem with transformers
placed below ground?
We consider it a problem.There are ways it
can be mitigated that are expensive relative to our
conventional methods.Placing transformers below ground
level is not an economically feasible investment for most
of our customers, compared with the ease of operations for
pad mounted facilities.
Before we get into the specifics of the
present situation, why did Idaho Power begin phasing out
transformers it had placed underground?
Ini tially, the primary reason was the safety
problem in having our people operate and maintain those
If a person wanted to de-energize a transformersystems.
located underground, he would have to lift a grate or a
the vault which encloses the transformer.vault lid off
The grate may be extremely heavy.For example, if the grate
was in a driveway, it had to be substantial enough to
support the weight of automobiles.If it was not in a
driveway it would be a mesh grate that could be lifted.But
it still would be a heavy grate which is directly over an
energized transformer.We fear that a person may lose their
grip on this grate and it could drag across the transformer
and cause damage to the equipment itself or cause an
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
electrical flash.Workers are looking into these units
usually after a problem has developed, and they are not
certain of the condition of the equipment.Thus, a
dangerous condition exists before a worker ever accesses the
vaul t with the transformer as currently designed.
Also, once the grate was off, then the worker
had to operate the equipment to de-energize it.The person
would use an insulated tool to reach down and grab hold of
the energized conductor and remove it from the transformer.
This process required the worker to stand over the vault as
the energized conductor was removed.The vault is a hostile
environment for the transformer.As a resul t the worker
would not know the condi tion of the transformer or
connecting conductor cable.For these reasons working on a
transformer placed underground is risky.
Moreover, we have had violent failures of
equipment without workers present.Transformers
occasionally explode, which could present a danger to the
Customers have reported violent failures.It couldpublic.
be very dangerous if children or anyone else is in the
vicinity when that happens.
Did Idaho Power have other concerns beside
these safety concerns when phasing out the transformers
placed underground?
Locating transformers underground increase
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
We have to train people to be aware of theseour costs.
special transformers and the process of how to find them.
We have additional carrying costs for inventory in order to
maintain spare units and the ancillary equipment we use in
those situations.
Has Idaho Power Company ceased placing
transformers underground?
Idaho Power ceased offeringYes.
transformers placed underground, even before I became an
Idaho Power has never offeredemployee of Idaho Power.
underground transformers service to any residential users
while I have been an employee.
Is Idaho Power phasing out existing
transformers underground?
Whenever we remove a transformer thatYes.
fails, or if there is any system reconstruction that occurs
at a location where there is a transformer underground,
Idaho Power removes those facilities and installs a pad
This is a result of ourmounted transformer at grade.
decision to no longer offer that type service. Most of the
remaining underground transformers have since been removed
to reduce the risk to employees when operating the equipment
during outage events.
Why are transformers located underground not
the optimal method for use in residential subdivisions?
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
A conventional transformer in an underground
vaul t is in a hostile environment.Depending upon the
outside environment, you may have water entering the vault,
and in many cases completely submerging the transformers.
Water in contact with transformers causes corrosion over
If the water contains fertilizers, road salts ortime.
minerals from the soil, the water is even more corrosive.
Transformers create electric fields and charges which in an
environment like we are describing contribute to corrosion.
High-vol tage cable develops electric stress on its
Electric stress can cause insulation failure.insulation.
The underground environment of vaults can contribute to
early cable failure.This environment of corrosion and
cable faults results in shortened life span for
transformers.
Internally, the transformer is in an oil
A short circuit, which is basically a high-environment.
intensi ty arc, can create flammable gasses which may igni
inside the transformer causing it to explode.Corrosion and
electric stress are the two worst parts of the environment.
Corrosion is best dealt with by placing transformers in the
friendlier above ground environment.The stress element
remains the same, but in an above ground environment
operations and maintenance are obviously enhanced.
Idaho Power must deal with operating problems
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
resul ting from adverse weather conditions.In the Ketchum
Transformers placed belowarea there is a lot of snow.
ground can be completely buried under the snow.
Occasionally employees have to perform switching on the
system, meaning to de-energize and isolate part of the
system so we can work on the de-energized portion.Wi th two
or three feet of snow on the ground we have difficulty even
Idaho Power is concerned for itslocating the transformers.
customers over the prospect of prolonged outages as a result
of these adverse weather conditions.Customers have also
been known to n hide " vault locations under sod, in plantings
and other landscaping improvements.
Would the electric distribution system
serving the New Villager Condominium Association currently
fall under your area of responsibility.
Yes, from a redesign perspective.
Let's talk specifically about the dispute
between New Villager Condominium Association, Inc. and Idaho
Could you provide the Commission with aPower Company.
brief description of the history and nature of the dispute
between these two parties?
Idaho Power laid underground line and placed
transformers underground at New villager in 1969.The
construction was consistent wi th technology and standard
methods of that time.
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
In 1985, pursuant to the procedure I
previously referenced, Idaho Power further recognized the
potential safety risks for employees and the public and
removed the below ground transformers from the vaults.
These were replaced wi at grade pad mounted transformers.
The pad mounted transformers were dark green in color,
approximately thirty-three inches wide, thirty inches long
and twenty-four inches high.
On May 1, 1987, New Villager Condominium
Association, Inc. filed a Complaint in district court
alleging among other issues that Idaho Power lacked a proper
easement to move the transformers aboveground.
On January 10 and 11, 1989, the matter was
tried before Judge May in Hailey, Idaho.Judge May issued
his Decision dismissing Plaintiffs ' Complaints on the
grounds that Idaho Power had a lawful easement to move the
The Associations appealed.transformers above ground.
On March 24, 1992, the Idaho Supreme Court
reversed Judge May I s ruling and remanded the case to the
District Court.That case is reported as Villager
Condominium Association, Inc. v. Idaho Power Company, 121
Idaho 986, 829 P. 2d 1335 (1992)(Villager I) In a split,
three-two , decision the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that Judge
May was incorrect.Specifically, the Idaho Supreme Court
concluded that moving the transformers above ground was an
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
unauthorized" expansion of the easement.
On May 12, 1993, Idaho Power filed its
peti tion in this case before the Commission.The Company
requested that new Villager Condominium Association Inc. be
required as a condition of obtaining electric service to
provide Idaho Power with an easement permitting above ground
transformers pursuant to Idaho Code ~ 61-203 and General
In the meantime the District Court required IdahoRule 13.
Power to replace the transformers back in their vaults
underground since the Company did not have an easement for
above ground transformers.
Idaho Power Company appealed from the
decision requiring Idaho Power to place the transformers
In that appeal, the Condominiumback under ground.
Associations argued that the transformers must always remain
under ground in their present condition. The Condominium
Associations argued that the District Court I s decision in
requiring Idaho Power Company to replace the transformers
under ground was in the nature of a n permanent injunction
thus precluding this action before the Idaho Public
Utili ties Commission.
The Idaho Supreme Court expressly rej ected
the Condominium Associations ' argument that the Commission
was precluded from addressing the issue of requiring an
appropriate easement for pad mounted transformers as a
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
condi tion of providing electric service.
Could you provide a description and the
location of the transformers at New Villager Condominium
Association, Inc?
That is illustrated in a documentYes.
marked as n Exhibi t 1.
How are transformer inspections performed in
the Idaho Power service area?
As a matter of course, when we work on our
system our employees are trained to recognize parts of the
system that are in a failure mode.The problem wi th
transformers that are underground is they are in a very
confined environment and you can I t really tell much just by
The only thing you can really do iflifting the lid off.
you want to do an inspection is probably de-energize the
transformer and lift it out of the ground and inspect it.
Even then, however, all you are looking at is the outside
the transformer, you are not able to determine what the
inside of the transformer looks like.Its very difficult
and costly to have meaningful inspections.The inspection
idea would be disruptive to continuous customer service.
Would inspection improve reliability of the
existing underground transformers?
No, it would be nice to be able to inspect
more because of the hostile environment, but because of the
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
previous statement, it is my opinion that the cure of the
inspection is worse than the problem.The best course of
action is to replace the underground transformer with pad
Merely instituting a rigorousmounted transformers.
inspection program would aggravate the situation.Visual
inspection is very difficult as opposed to the pad mounted
or the overhead transformer.
In your opinion, is it in the public interest
for the Commission to require that New Villagers provide an
easement for the installation of pad mounted transformers?
Yes.
If the Commission were to require the
installation of below ground transformers can Idaho Power
develop a system with transformers placed under ground which
is safe for residential subdivisions?
Not absolutely safe, no.Safe is a relative
Assuming you mean as safe as our existing overheadterm.
system or our pad mounted transformer systems, the answer is
Idaho Power will require additional equipment,yes.
different styles of transformers than those that are
presently located underground and vaults adequate for
The new system would be expensiveswitching and safety.
compared to what we provide in other residential
subdivisions in Idaho Power s service area.
The new design would be a single vault that
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
lS four feet in depth and four feet by perhaps six feet on
That vault then would have an internallythe surface.
attached bus on one wall connecting the high-voltage cables:
one cable being connected to the source, one cable connected
to load further out on the circuit, and a third bus position
cabled to the energized transformer inside the vault. As far
as safety goes, we would be able to de-energize that single
transformer from a position at the edge of the vault through
an open access lid.
The transformer itself would be a new design
It would have a tank with a solid dielectricto our sys tem.
filled in around the transformer core and coils.Without
any oil as the dielectric the unit is much less susceptible
to violent failure.Wi th the three position bus on the
vaul t wall, other sections of the circuit will not be
interrupted to change out a failed transformer. We view this
installation as no more hazardous than what would be found
at pad mount transformer locations.
Has the Company developed an underground
transformer diagram?
That diagram is n Exhibi t 2.Yes.
Does Exhibit 2 illustrate the basic footprint
for the vault?
The footprint is, as I stated, fourYes.
The vault has an access lid on top of itfeet by six feet.
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
which would be roughly thirty-three inches square.
Does this vault design address all safety
concerns that you previously talked about?
We feel that the transformerYes it does.
would be much less inclined to violent failure. The new
access lids on top of the vault are not as open to the
environment and as a result materials are less likely to
The public is less likely to pokeflow into the vault.
sticks or papers or materials of any sort in there.
Please describe the diagram marked as
Exhibit 3.
Exhibit 3" is a diagram of an illustrated
example of a pad mount transformer.That diagram shows that
we have primary conductor coming in and/or attached to a
high voltage terminal on the transformer.The diagram
displays low voltage secondary or service cables going to
various locations in the subdivision.All these cables
enter into the transformer environment underground through
the concrete pad that it is sitting on.This diagram fails
to show the lid associated with the transformer.It has
been left off just for illustration purposes.The lid is
roughly the same size as the box that is above the concrete
It is just hinged and would fitpad that is seen there.
over all these wires that are exposed in the picture and it
would be fastened by a tamper proof device.
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
The difference between these two diagrams
does not necessarily address the hostile environment issue
that we have discussed concerning transformers below ground.
Could you address that?
The new vault design has a much more limited
ability for foreign materials to flow into it.However, it
is not waterproof, but the cable material has been designed
The transformer wi th its solidto withstand water.
dielectric will be relatively impervious to corrosive
elements. These two factors diminish our environmental
concerns.
Have you prepared a cost estimate for the
installation of below ground transformers on the property
owned by the New Villager Condominium Association?
Exhibi t 4" is that estimate.Yes,
Does this diagram incorporate any anticipated
costs for maintaining inventory for the submersible
transformers?
Yes, in order to minimize costs we have set
forth this standard design in which we would need to only
own one extra transformer in our emergency inventory. If we
ever needed more than one spare at a time we would have to
use a pad mount as a back-up replacing the underground unit.
The pad mounted transformer would be placed directly on top
of the vault as a temporary measure until another
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
underground transformer could be ordered and placed in the
If the Commission were to require. the installationvaul t .
of below-ground transformers, the Commission should require
that the New Villagers Condominium Association give Idaho
Power an easement that permits a pad-mounted transformer on
a temporary/emergency basis.
what is the total cost estimate for
transformers installed below ground for New Villager
Condominium Association Inc?
As reflected on n Exhibi t 4," the estimate is
$58,995.00.
That Exhibit has a footnote which states
Landscaping and site restoration to be provided by the New
Villager Condominium Association, Inc. at no cost to Idaho
Power Company.
In my opinion, it is more reasonable toYes.
have the New Villagers Condominium Association, Inc. provide
for the site restoration and landscaping once the new
underground transformers are installed.
This diagram does not discuss any special
training for personnel.
Any lineman that is qualified to do work on
would be qualified to do theour pad mounted transformers
technical aspects of working on these transformers. There
would be a burden on personnel responsible for working in
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
as to the locations of the vaults since theirthe area
placement underground will be difficult to find in adverse
weather or landscaping conditions.
In researching Idaho Power 's ability to
obtain below ground transformers, did you locate any
manufacturers of this specific type of transformers we have
discussed so far?
Yes, all but one produce transformers with
oil as the dielectric.We first approached most of our
normal vendors for transformers. The larger producers of oil
filled transformers ceased manufacturing underground
We have found three other suppliers, onetransformers.
The two domestics produce otherCanadian, two domestics.
transformers although, they are not major players, so we
consider the sources for the submersible oil filled
special ty transformer suppliers.transformers to be from
The solid dielectric design we have chosen is from a large
vendor wi th a proven track record.
Does this conclude your testimony?
Yes.
NIELSON, DI
Idaho Power Company
11/30/03
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Case No. IPC-93-
J. NIELSON, IPCO
Page 1 OF 1III 30/J3
IDAHO POWER
BELOW GROUND TRANSFORMER INSTALLED IN A 464 VAULT
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EXIBIT NO.
CASE NO. IPC-93-
J. NIELSON, IPCO
PAGE 1 OF 1
11/30/03
Pad-Mounted Transformer Installation
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Service
EXIBIT NO.
CASE NO. IPC-93-
J. NIELSON, IPCO
PAGE 1 OF 1
11/30/03
Estimated Cost for Idaho Power Company to
Install New Below-Ground Transformers at
New Villager Condominium Association, Inc.
(Cost Does Not Include Removing the Vaults and Transformers)
Estimated Installed Cost for Each Below-Ground Transformer
Quantit Descri tion Cost
1 ea Vault and cover 075.
1 ea 75 k V A ABB transformer 782.
4ea Primary cable elbow terminations 110.
1 ea 3-way LBC junction 210.
1 set Secondary cable connectors 280.
1 set Miscellaneous materials 805.
Sub- Total for Materials 262.
6% Idaho sales tax 436.
22 hrs Installation labor (I)210.
Total Estimated Installed Cost per Transformer 908.
Estimated Cost to Purchase and Inventory One Spare Transformer
Quantity Description1 ea 100 kV A transformer 6% Idaho sales tax Transformer inventory expense
Total Estimated Cost for One Spare Transformer
Cost
4782.
287.
478.
547.
Quantit
6 ea
1 ea
Total Estimated Cost for Six Below-Ground Transformers
Description
Installed transformers (Q) $8 908.00 Spare transformer
Total Estimated Cost for Six Transformers and One Spare
Cost
53,448.
547.
58,995.
(1) Landscaping and site restoration to be provided by the New Villager Condominium Association,
mc, at no cost to Idaho Power Company.
EXHIBIT NO.
CASE NO. IPC-93-
J. NIELSON, IPCO
PAGE 1 OF 1
11130/03