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Partner Meeting
Best Practices for SF6 Inventories and Emission Reductions
New Developments in Climate Change Policy
May 13-14, 2010
Energy Plaza, Rm. 2-157
1601 Bryan Street
Dallas, Texas
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Agenda (PDF) (4 pp, 108K)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
- Inventorying and Determining Nameplate Capacity Estimates, Paul Stewart, ICF International (PDF) (17 pp, 340K)
Table Discussion 1: SF6 Inventories
Moderator: Mollie Averyt, ICF International
This Partner table discussion will be an open discussion focused on SF6 inventories. Each Partner will come prepared to speak to the questions below. Following an opening by the moderator, a mediated group discussion will be held to allow all Partners to speak to and share ideas on methods for inventorying SF6 gas.
Discussion Topics:
- What challenges do you encounter in estimating nameplate capacity for individual pieces of equipment? Have you attempted to contact electrical equipment manufacturers to obtain nameplate capacities for equipment when it is not readily apparent? Are they able to provide the information you need? Or do you just recover all of the gas from equipment and then weigh the gas if you are unsure of the nameplate capacity?
- What have you found as the most effective way to track the entire inventory of equipment to estimate total system-wide nameplate capacity? Is it essential to use inventory management software for medium and large utilities? Are there specific types of inventory-management software that work better than others?
- Have you found that the actual amount of SF6 that a piece of equipment holds when fully charged is different from what you previously thought based on its recorded nameplate capacity? How common is it to adjust the estimated nameplate capacity for an individual piece of equipment, either because of misunderstandings of the true nameplate capacity or because of past alterations to the equipment?
- With what frequency do you record your mass-balance inputs? Is monthly mass-balance input recording helpful in ensuring good recordkeeping?
- How is the cylinder inventory prepared? Do you have a central storage area where all cylinders are stored when they are not being used? How are cylinders identified? Is the weight of each cylinder stored in a database in real-time? What is your procedure for weighing cylinders: before and after each use, or on a periodic schedule?
- How many scales does your utility own? What type of scales are used at your utility and what is their accuracy/precision? Are scales for weighing cylinders transportable?
- How are inventory practices and procedures developed, stored, updated, and made available so they can be effectively implemented by current staff and passed on to new staff in the future?
- What strategies are being used to incorporate relatively small switchgear into your inventories to prepare for mandatory reporting?
- How should equipment be treated that is delivered to utility but not yet installed?
- Are there any other challenges that you have had in measuring inputs to the mass-balance and estimating overall emissions?
Friday, May 14, 2010
Moderator: Mike Hamilton, Oncor
This Partner table discussion will be an open discussion focused on best management practices and mitigation strategies for SF6 emission reductions. Each Partner will come prepared to speak to the questions below. Following an opening by the moderator, a mediated group discussion will be held to allow all Partners to speak to and share ideas on best management practices and mitigation strategies for SF6 emission reductions.
Discussion Topics:
- What techniques and sealants does your company use to address leak repair?
- What are your company's decision criteria for repair versus replacement?
- How do you and/or your staff approach the challenge of receiving approval and funding for making expensive purchases for equipment repair and/or replacement?
- Have you been able to substitute non-SF6 insulated equipment for equipment that did contain SF6? Is there any R&D going into new strategies for using less SF6 or emitting less?
- How can software be used to effectively prioritize which breakers are in the most need of attention?
- How have you ensured that the appropriate fittings are used on equipment to prevent leaks and ease future maintenance of the equipment?
- What is the best way to train field crews on how to properly handle gas? How frequent do staff receive refresher courses? Also, do you provide field crews with materials that they can use on the spot when performing maintenance?
- How is breaker maintenance handled during the peak load summer months? Do you conduct extra maintenance or repair activities in the spring to prepare for summer months?
- In the past, Partners have noted that it can be difficult to identify leaks on GIS buses inside substations, and one Partner said that FLIR is working on a laser attachment for cameras. Have you had issues spotting leaks on GIS gear using leak-detection cameras? Do you have any strategies for identifying leaks on GIS equipment?
- What has been your most effective strategy for reducing SF6 emissions? Are SF6 emission reductions recognized in the overall GHG emission reduction strategy by your company?
Moderator: Sally Rand, EPA
This session will provide an opportunity for Partners to discuss scope of activities and resources they need from the EPA Partnership to help them make further emission reductions and improve emissions inventories. Also an opportunity to provide feedback to EPA on future policies and measures discussed in Session 1.