1. Presented by: Keith Gray & Julienne Sugarek CenterPoint Energy
Cable Life Extension
Presented by:
Keith Gray & Julienne Sugarek
CenterPoint Energy

2. Overview
Introduction
Challenge
Solution
Benefits

3. Who Is CenterPoint Energy?
Natural gas sales and delivery
Over 3.2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in six states
Competitive gas services (CES)
Over 11,100 commercial, industrial and wholesale customers across central U.S.
Electric transmission and distribution
Over 2.3 million meters in the Houston area
5,000+ square mile electric service territory

4. Underground Residential Distribution System
18,000+ URD loops
13,000+ miles of cable
Pad-mounted transformers, secondary pedestals, primary pull holes, terminal poles, terminators, elbows and other equipment

5. Challenge

6. Challenge

7. Challenge
Wholesale replacement of all aged loops is too expensive and requires too many resources
What Do We Do?

8. Solution
Assessment
On-site mitigations
Warranty
Operational Issues

9. Solution - Assessment
Needed a better understanding of what was causing failures and the condition of our cable:
Voids such as insulation cuts, overheating
Stress enhancements such as cut back issues, foreign objects, contaminants

10. Solution - Assessment
Off-line assessment creates a controlled environment by eliminating outside noise and interference
Requires isolation of the span being assessed
The evaluation is consistent with manufacturer standards for cable (ANSI/ICEA S ), terminations (IEEE48) and connectors (IEEE386)
Provides a strategic view into the condition of our cables
Assessment results assist with prioritization for future rehabilitation activity

11. 2. Assessment Equipment Connected
Solution - Assessment
2. Assessment Equipment Connected
1. Span Isolated
3. Assessment Performed

12. Solution – On-site Mitigations
As part of the assessment, a full loop inspection is performed
99.6% of loops required mitigation
More than 70% of issues are addressed on-site
Assessment enables technicians to pinpoint and address where mitigations are required

13. Solution – On-site Mitigations
Sub standard PD – Stress cone / Term
Removed Stress Cone, prep for extended semi-cone
QTIII cold shrink termination installed
Tested and Met Standards

14. Solution – On-site Mitigations
New Elbow Installed
Tested and Met Standards
No Stress Relief Overlap
Knife Cuts in Insulation
Insulation Repaired

15. Solution - Warranty
All assessed spans are given a 15-year performance guarantee
Guarantee is a credit per span and per failure
Length of the guarantee depends on the cable type

16. Solution – Refinements
A number of operational issues were overcome after the initial roll out:
Failure rate was 51%
On site mitigation performance
Crew structuring and hours worked

17. Benefits Broader reach at a reduced cost and uses fewer resources
Formerly CNP would address 35 loops per year, now we address 500+ per year
Costs are more predictable
Resource requirements are more predictable
A capital program that results in O&M savings

18. Benefits Younger Loops Older Loops No PSR Required PSR Required
Tested & Older than 1985
All Loops
All Tested

19. Benefits
A critical step is developing the financial model to demonstrate the cost avoidance
“Outages avoided per year” ratio developed based on pre-program and post-program outage data
Apply to number of loops evaluated and multiply by the average cost of a reactive URD outage to estimate the cost avoidance

20. Summary Aging infrastructure is a real issue in our industry
In order to address it, we have to be innovative to ensure we are maximizing our investments
A critical success factor is developing a model that uses real data to illustrate the benefits realized