06-21-2013 BPU RPT 15 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES ENERGY DELIVERY DIVISION ANNUAL REPORT OF 2012 ELECTRICAL FACILITIES INSPECTION AND CORRECTIVE ACTION BACKGROUND The State of California Public Utilities Code Section 3641 requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to adopt standards for the inspection, maintenance, repair and replacement of electric utility distribution facilities owned and operated by the state's Investor Owned Utilities (IOU). Subdivision (b) of that section provides that, in setting standards for maintenance, repair, and replacement the commission shall consider cost, local geography and weather, applicable codes, national electric industry practices, sound engineering judgment, and experience. In response to poor performance of the distribution systems of the IOUs, the CPUC adopted General Order No. 165 (GO 165) in 1997. GO 165 establishes minimum inspection requirements for certain electric distribution facilities including maximum allowable inspection cycle lengths, condition rating, record keeping, reporting on scheduling and performance of corrective action(s). In 1998, under Decision 98 -03 -036 (D. 98 -03 -036), the CPUC ordered that all publicly owned utilities were to comply with the requirements of GO 165. Due to the onerous economic and governance burdens of subjecting publicly owned utilities to CPUC oversight, the California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA) filed an application for rehearing. The CPUC denied this request and subsequent others. The City of Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) has always had some type of inspection and maintenance program for the electric system, albeit not in the depth and scope set forth by GO 165. Electric construction and operation personnel are trained to identify any unusual or abnormal conditions of equipment and take the appropriate action(s). On April 22, 1999 the City Attorney's Office recommended that RPU adopt the inspection standards of GO 165 and report findings to RPU's governing bodies (Board and City Council). RPU's Asset Management Program was developed to encompass all overhead, underground, and streetlight assets. The system documents the condition rating and asset life cycle through inspections and work history. The system generates work requests to correct infractions, maintenance and capital replacements when these are identified. The work request will then track the repairs through the work order system to document corrective actions. All assets are set on GO 165 compliant inspection cycles, depending on the inspection type, giving the City quality information for future budget allocations and repairs. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2012, Energy Delivery staff patrolled 110 of the 125 distribution circuits and all 24 transmission lines by vehicle. The fifteen distribution circuits missed in 2012 were patrolled in January 2013. Contract crews continued the detailed inspections of the overhead and underground system and completed 11,935 detailed inspections. Detailed and intrusive inspections have identified 2,994 wood poles in need of replacement and 2,793 underground structures in need of major or minor repairs. City and contractor crews replaced 88 deteriorated wood poles in the transmission and distribution systems in 2012. Contract crews repaired 29 underground structures in 2012.