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W A T E R E N E R G v I <br />RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES <br />PUB LIC UTILITIES Board Memorandum <br />BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES DATE: JANUARY 23, 2023 <br />SUBJECT: HARVEY LYNN SUBSTATION SWITCHGEAR NO. 5 PROTECTION SYSTEM <br />UPGRADE PROJECT; WORK ORDER 2302559 IN THE AMOUNT OF $383,000 <br />ISSUE: <br />Consider approval of the capital expenditure for Work Order No. 2302559 in the amount of <br />$383,000 for the Harvey Lynn Substation Switchgear No. 5 Protection System Upgrade Project. <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />That the Board of Public Utilities approve the capital expenditure for Work Order No. 2302559 in <br />the amount of $383,000 which includes all design, construction, procurement, testing and <br />commissioning, and construction support for upgrading the protection and automation systems at <br />Harvey Lynn Substation Switchgear No. 5. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Protective relays are critical components of electrical transmission and distribution systems. The <br />function of a protective relay is to detect and locate an electrical fault and issue a command to the <br />associated circuit breaker to isolate the faulty section of the system. This is how protective relays <br />play a key role in ensuring the safe and reliable operation of the electric grid. <br />Electromechanical relays and control systems were the standard in the electrical industry until the <br />1990s. Since then, there has been a migration towards digital relays and controls. RPU <br />standardized the use of digital relays for all new installations and upgrades in the late 1990s. Now <br />these first -generation digital relays that were installed in the late 1990s have reached the end of <br />their design life of 20 years and are experiencing failure in service due to the effects of aging on <br />electronic components of the digital relays. <br />Replacement of first -generation digital relays with new digital relays is essential to increase safety <br />and system dependability and support smart grid infrastructure. New digital relays have high- <br />speed, secure, dependable fault detection, robust event reporting, and comprehensive <br />automation and control functions. The innovative features in new protective relays provide <br />significant advantages over the first -generation digital relays and electromechanical relays. <br />RPU has an ongoing relay replacement program that identifies and proactively replaces <br />substation protective relays, automation, and control equipment. The program is driven by a <br />