52 Pa. Code § 57.198 - Inspection and maintenance standards
(a)
Filing date and plan
components. Every 2 years, by October 1, an EDC shall prepare and file
with the Commission a biennial plan for the periodic inspection, maintenance,
repair and replacement of its facilities that is designed to meet its
performance benchmarks and standards under this subchapter. EDCs in Compliance
Group 1, as determined by the Commission, shall file their initial plans on
October 1, 2009. EDCs in Compliance Group 2, as determined by the Commission,
shall file their initial plans on October 1, 2010. Each EDC's biennial plan
must cover the 2 calendar years beginning 15 months after filing, be
implemented 15 months after filing, and must remain in effect for 2 calendar
years thereafter. In preparing this plan, the following facilities are critical
to maintaining system reliability:
(1)
Poles.
(2) Overhead conductors and
cables.
(3) Transformers.
(4) Switching devices.
(5) Protective devices.
(6) Regulators.
(7) Capacitors.
(8) Substations.
(b)
Plan consistency. The
plan must be consistent with the National Electrical Safety Code, Codes and
Practices of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission Regulations and the provisions of the American
National Standards Institute, Inc.
(c)
Time frames. The plan
must comply with the inspection and maintenance standards in subsection (n). A
justification for the inspection and maintenance time frames selected shall be
provided, even if the time frame falls within the intervals prescribed in
subsection (n). However, an EDC may propose a plan that, for a given standard,
uses intervals outside the Commission standard, provided that the deviation can
be justified by the EDC's unique circumstances or a cost/benefit analysis to
support an alternative approach that will still support the level of
reliability required by law.
(d)
Routine inspection and maintenance. The plan must specify for
the standards in subsection (n) the routine inspection and maintenance
requirements, and emergency maintenance plans and procedures.
(e)
Reduction of risk of
outages. The plan shall be designed to reduce the risk of outages by
accounting for age, condition, technology, design and performance of system
components and by inspecting, maintaining, repairing, replacing and upgrading
the system.
(f)
Clearance
of vegetation. The plan must include a program for the maintenance of
clearances of vegetation from the EDC's overhead distribution
facilities.
(g)
Consistency
with reliability reports. The plan must form the basis of, and be
consistent with, the EDC's inspection and maintenance goals and objectives
included in subsequent annual and quarterly reliability reports filed with the
Commission under §
§
57.193(c) and
57.195 (relating to transmission
system reliability; and reporting requirements).
(h)
Review procedure. Within
90 days of receipt of the plan, the Commission or the Director of the Bureau of
Conservation, Economics and Energy Planning (CEEP) will accept or reject the
plan in writing.
(i)
Deemed
acceptance. Absent action by the Commission or the Director of CEEP to
reject the plan within 90 days of the plan's submission to the Commission, the
plan will be deemed accepted.
(j)
Plan deficiencies. If the plan is rejected, in whole or in
part, by the Commission or the Director of CEEP, the EDC will be notified of
the plan's deficiencies and directed to submit one of the following:
(i) A revised plan, or pertinent parts of the
plan, addressing the identified deficiencies.
(ii) An explanation why the EDC believes its
plan is not deficient. The revised plan is deemed accepted absent any action by
the Commission within 90 days of the filing.
(k)
Appeal procedure. An EDC
may appeal the Commission staff's determination under subsection (h) by filing
an appeal under §
5.44 (relating to petitions for
appeal from actions of the staff) within 20 days after service of notice of the
action. A final Commission determination is appealable to the Commonwealth
Court. Absent having a granted stay, the EDC is obligated to comply with the
Commission's directives regarding its inspection, maintenance, repair and
replacement plans.
(l)
EDC
updates. An EDC may request approval from the Commission for revising
its approved plan. An EDC shall submit to the Commission, as an addendum to its
quarterly reliability report under §
§
57.193(c) and
57.195, prospective and past
revisions to its plan and a discussion of the reasons for the revisions. Within
60 days, the Commission or the Director of CEEP will accept or reject the
revisions to the plan. The appeal procedure in subsection (k) applies to the
appeal of a rejection of revisions to the plan.
(m)
Recordkeeping. An EDC
shall maintain records of its inspection and maintenance activities sufficient
to demonstrate compliance with its distribution facilities inspection,
maintenenance, repair and replacement programs as required by subsection (n).
The records shall be made available to the Commission upon request within 30
days. Examples of sufficient records include:
(1) Date-stamped records signed by EDC staff
who performed the tasks related to inspection.
(2) Maintenance, repair and replacement
receipts from independent contractors showing when and what type of inspection,
maintenance, repair or replacement work was done.
(n)
Inspection and maintenance
intervals. An EDC shall maintain the following inspection and
maintenance plan intervals:
(1)
Vegetation management. The Statewide minimum inspection and
treatment cycle for vegetation management is between 4-8 years for distribution
facilities. An EDC shall submit a condition-based plan for vegetation
management for its distribution system facilities explaining its treatment
cycle.
(2)
Pole
inspections. Distribution poles shall be inspected at least as often
as every 10-12 years except for the new southern yellow pine creosoted utility
poles which shall be initally inspected within 25 years, then within 12 years
annually after the initial inspection. Pole inspections must include:
(i) Drill tests at and below ground
level.
(ii) A shell test.
(iii) Visual inspection for holes or evidence
of insect infestation.
(iv) Visual
inspection for evidence of unauthorized backfilling or excavation near the
pole.
(v) Visual inspection for
signs of lightening strikes.
(vi) A
load calculation.
(3)
Pole inspection failure. If a pole fails the groundline
inspection and shows dangerous conditions that are an immediate risk to public
or employee safety or conditions affecting the integrity of the circuit, the
pole shall be replaced within 30 days of the date of inspection.
(4)
Distribution overhead line
inspections. Distribution lines shall be inspected by ground patrol a
minimum of once every 1-2 years. A visual inspection must include checking for:
(i) Broken insulators.
(ii) Conditions that may adversely affect
operation of the overhead transformer.
(iii) Other conditions that may adversely
affect operation of the overhead distribution line.
(5)
Inspection failure. If
critical maintenance problems are found that affect the integrity of the
circuits, they shall be repaired or replaced no later than 30 days from
discovery.
(6)
Distribution
transformer inspections. Overhead distribution transformers shall be
visually inspected as part of the distribution line inspection every 1-2 years.
Above-ground pad-mounted transformers shall be inspected at least as often as
every 5 years and below-ground transformers shall be inspected at least as
often as every 8 years. An inspection must include checking for:
(i) Rust, dents or other evidence of
contact.
(ii) Leaking
oil.
(iii) Installation of fences
or shrubbery that could adversely affect access to and operation of the
transformer.
(iv) Unauthorized
excavation or changes in grade near the transformer.
(7)
Recloser inspections.
Three-phase reclosers shall be inspected on a cycle of 8 years or less.
Single-phase reclosers shall be inspected as part of the EDC's individual
distribution line inspection plan.
(8)
Substation inspections.
Substation equipment, structures and hardware shall be inspected on a cycle of
5 weeks or less.
Notes
The provisions of this § 57.198 adopted under the Public Utility Code, 66 Pa.C.S. § § 501, 57.191-57.197 and Chapter 28.
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