TVPPA report: Part II

In this second article of this series, The South Reporter combines the report of several Tennessee Valley Public Power Association’s assessment findings and/or recommendations to the HSUD electric department released in October.

Leadership and management of HSUD was first on the assessment report. TVPPA recommended a complete and qualified general manager should be hired to lead HSUD and that best practices standards be put in place at the utility.

Using standards put in place by the American Public Power Association’s Reliable Power Provider (RP3), HSUD scored 21 out of 100, “an extremely low overall result,” according to the report.

The general manager that is hired to lead HSUD should have a minimum experience of 12 to 15 years experience in a related role at another utility and a strong background in electrical engineering. An electrical engineer can be hired on staff to work alongside a qualified general manager, if the GM is not degreed as an electrical engineer.

The report said the issues described in the assessment are complex and technical and require experience to ensure progress in the system.

The existing consultant the City of Holly Springs contracts as an outside consultant appears to lack engineering expertise with electrical engineering, the report said. The lack of engineering expertise in-house and from the outside consultant was viewed as problematic.

TVPPA concluded from onsite interviews with employees at HSUD during the assessment that employees both want and need competent leadership in management. HSUD’s lack of competent leadership has led to the use of stop-gap measures which only allow the system to be partially functional at specific time intervals, according to the report.

TVPPA reported employee demographics and Human Resource Management personnel were not made available to the comprehensive assessment team.

“Therefore, this portion of the assessment has been deferred to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s ongoing assistance, subsequent findings and corrective action measures with HSUD’s HR management program,” the report said.

Vegetation management, a high-priority issue in terms of establishing reliability of power, was covered in the report.

Vegetation management cannot be remedied by the

existing work force, the report said, and the problem is systemic and extends through the sub-transmission 46KV distribution system into the substations. Those lines, relatively clear of trees and vegetation now, will have problems later as vegetation continues to grow.

TVPPA found HSUD does not have the manpower or equipment to safely remove “the overwhelming amount of vegetation.”

Vegetation will have to be removed from direct contact with energized conductors, and this leads to safety concerns.

The report said during the assessment, two circuit issues led to an extensive four-hour outage.

Professional line-clearing companies would be the responsible option for vegetation removal and management, based on current circumstances, according to the assessment report.

Other specific maintenance measures cited included the need to consider factors such as the width of the rights-of-way (ROW), use of herbicides and growth regulators, line relocations, proactive communications of work being performed, and legal and suitable bidding processes for proposed jobs and so forth.

TVPPA recommended a qualified vegetation management consultant or general manager with electric utility experience and background be used to address vegetation management.

Restoring ROWs to the required standard was estimated to cost over $10 million, and would need to be overseen by an experienced general manager to assure the quality and standards of work are followed.

TVPPA recommended the clearing of vegetation in the service area be expedited because vegetation continues to grow and encroach on power lines daily. The entire system should be cleared in a two-to-three-year timeframe, which would require “on boarding of a large number of contract employees.”

HSUD purchased a 46KV sub-transmission line from TVA and maintained those two lines as follows:

• one line originates at the South Holly Springs Substation and terminates at the Slayden Substation.

• another line used runs from the Slayden Substation to the Coldwater Substation.

The 46KV lines are used to provide transmission service to the smaller substations.

TVPPA’s assessment said the Slayden Substation is the only one being served at 46KV and is at serious risk of being depleted of power for a long period of time. The South Holly Springs Substation is down in multiple areas and has been for at least two years. The line needs immediate trimming and repair. And when this line fails, the Coldwater Substation is used to provide service to the Slayden Substation to keep it online.

This arrangement was described in the report as abnormal and complex and understood only by the consulting engineering firm that developed it. It is a high priority to restore the South Holly Springs line to the Slayden line as quickly as possible.

Other needs are the routine maintenance and inspection of substations - not a difficult or expensive process, according to the report. A simple checklist can be used.

Transformer failure can cause damage to many components of the substation and replacement transformers are not easy to come by and take lead times of up to a year or more.

HSUD was found to not have a spare transformer and no formal arrangement to acquire a mobile from another source such as TVA. All of HSUD’s substations have vegetation that provide nesting areas for animals which increases risks of fire and outages.

Old equipment is stored along with damaged equipment.

The North Holly Springs Substation is partially out of service due to an explosion dating back to 2018 and some transformers at the substation are aged and of questionable service.

The costs estimate to correct the substation issues are estimated by TVPPA to run about $15 million in a worstcase scenario.

TVPPA recommended the removal of vegetation and disposal of unusable materials. A system study by an experienced electric utility consulting firm was recommended.