NYPA Smart Path Connect Substations, North Country, New York 

New York Power Authority is increasing renewable energy generation in the Northern parts of New York state as part of their Smart Path connect project. To achieve the increased capacity, existing substations (Ryan, Patnode, and Moses) are being expanded/modified with additional substation structures and equipment to accommodate the additional load. Project work includes adding circuit breakers, relay panels, substation structures (A-Frames, H-Frames), and the associated calculations (foundations, buswork, grounding, lightning, etc.). 

Transmission Tower Fiber Attachment Program, Northern CA 

Pacific Gas & Electric communication fiber cable (OPGW) installation on 230 kV double circuit overhead transmission lines. PLS-CADD design and PLS-TOWER analysis of 46 existing lattice towers, foundation analysis, and structure modification recommendations. 

Glenwood Substation Structural Condition Assessment, Long Island, NY 

The project involved analyzing the 3D scans and subsequent LiDAR cloud of a 90-year-old Public Service Electric & Gas Long Island substation to complete a structural condition assessment, identify any health and safety concerns, and develop remediation recommendations. Analysis and recommendations regarding adding an additional path of egress for health and safety reasons to the raised platform was also conducted. 

Drone Investigation, Assessment and Repair (DIAR) Program, San Diego, CA  

Development of engineering and design packages of San Diego Gas & Electric’s distribution lines for remediation of issues identified by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) inspections. The program involved the creation of a high volume of construction packages in an expedited effort to support the utility initiatives. Successful completion of over 60 projects during the pilot program. 

Take Charge EV Program, Arizona 

Detailed engineering electrical site design, permitting, and construction support for Arizona Public Service’s EV program. Over 40 site designs completed. 

Fire Risk Mitigation (FiRM) Program, San Diego, CA 

Wood-to-steel conversion fire hardening program for San Diego Gas & Electric’s distribution lines in high-risk fire areas. The engineering program included line design utilizing PLS-CADD including full construction package development and subsequent as-built model creation. Team members have completed the engineering for over 600 structures to support the program. 

Electric Distribution Planning (EDP) Owner’s Engineer, San Diego, CA 

Engineering and design review for both overhead and underground distribution packages for San Diego Gas & Electric. Quality Control reviews include PLS-CADD, O-Calc, environmental, permitting, construction sketches, and bill of material documents/models to ensure compliance with utility and G.O. 95 and 128 standards. Reviews conducted using Bluebeam Studio to collaborate with multiple disciplines in real time.  

Transmission Grid Aerial Survey and Line Modeling, Kentucky 

Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities program to aerial survey and model 260 miles of transmission lines in PLS-CADD. Approximately 3,300 structures were modeled as M1 structures with the existing insulator configuration to set up models to facilitate a utility program that will analyze the grid system. 

Wildfire Safety Inspection Program (WSIP), Northern CA 

Pacific Gas & Electric’s WSIP program utilized UAVs to complete enhanced inspections of over 50,000 transmission structures. ETA’s support of the program included program specification development, training of dozens of UAV pilots, and field crew operations management. ETA also supported the quality control of incoming images from all UAV companies and creation of dashboards/KPI metrics to support program initiatives. Team members also performed detailed engineering inspections of the UAV images to identify issues for remediation using utility and G.O. 95 standards. 

Transmission Fiber Attachment Project, San Diego, CA  

PLS-CADD line and M4 structure modeling and engineering analysis of San Diego Gas & Electric 138 kV structures in support of a communications company’s request to attach process. The project included 90 structures consisting of monopoles, H-frames, and tri-pole structures and attachment infraction reports were prepared in accordance with utility and G.O. 95 standards. The project also included fielding and analysis of highway crossings. 

Electric Vehicle Charge Network (EVCN) Program, Northern CA 

Support for Pacific Gas & Electric’s EV program including preliminary site eligibility reviews, cost estimating, and civil/electrical feasibility reports. Detailed engineering electrical site design, permitting, and construction support completed for over 15 sites. 

Power Your Drive (PYD) Electric Vehicle Program, San Diego, CA  

San Diego Gas & Electric’s PYD program involved the installation of over 3,000 level 2 EV charging stations at residential and commercial sites. ETA led the pre-construction management for the Power Your Drive program. This included bid package development and tendering, planning, and scheduling construction schedules, and ensuring all needed milestones were prioritized accordingly, including environmental review, hazardous testing, permitting, SDG&E approval, and pre-construction site meetings with site hosts. It also included managing the various design consultants to implement clear design standards and QA/QC processes to ensure consistent and complete packages from all design teams. ETA also coordinated with clients for new construction projects to assist the SDG&E sales team and design resource collaboration with client architects, engineers, and contractors to ensure project designs and schedules were properly coordinated and executed.