2009falltdm 4 fecht, galen

Composite Poles: Longest Service p gLife, Low Maintenance

Edison Electric InstituteFall EEI Transmission, Distribution & Metering Conference

October 12, 2009

Southern California EdisonScott Smith, Manager of Apparatus Engineering

RS TechnologiesGalen Fecht, Director, Commercial

Composite Poles: Long Service Life, Low MaintenanceComposite Poles: Long Service Life, Low Maintenance

• Composite Pole CharacheristicsComposite Pole Properties• Non‐conductive‐ safer for live line installations‐ reduced probability of touch or step potentials‐ increase in system basic insulation level

• Lightweight• Lightweight


Composite Pole Properties• Self extinguishing

Composite Pole Characheristics‐ passes California Dept. of Forestry and Fire fast moving brush fire test• High fracture toughness• Can absorb considerable elastic strain energy compared to other materials• Highest specific strength of any pole type• Highest specific strength of any pole type


Composite Pole Properties• Use commercially available standard hardware

Composite Pole Characheristics• Well received by consumers (aesthetics)• Environmentally responsible infrastructure solution‐ Preservatives are not required to extend the service lifeNo leaching of potentially harmful chemicals‐ No leaching of potentially harmful chemicals

‐ No soil remediation‐ No disposal costs

• Engineered for reliability and repeatable performance‐ Low coefficient of variance (COV)‐ 5% lower exclusion limit (LEL)

• Compatible with Power Line Systems (PLS) software


Composite Pole Properties – Long Service Life• Corrosion, Rot and Pest Resistant

Composite Pole Characheristics‐ Hydrophobic surface‐ Resistant to airborne and roadside salt and chemicals‐ Excellent coastal and wet area performanceImpervious to termites wood peckers and other pests‐ Impervious to termites, wood peckers and other pests

• Temperature range of ‐76°F [‐60°C] to +167°F [+75°C]• Integrated aliphatic UV protection• 80 year expected service life


Composite Pole Characheristics


The Net Benefits of Composite PolesComposite Pole Characheristics

•80 year service life in climates where other pole types only last 10 to 40 yearspole types only last 10 to 40 years

•Little to no maintenance required, with inspection cycles of 10 to 20 years


Expected Utility Pole PerformanceComposite Pole Characheristics

Martin Rollins, P.E.

“The Hardening of Utility Lines – Implications for Utility Pole Design and Use”

North American Wood Pole Council, 2007North American Wood Pole Council, 2007

“In general, the system performed as expected and potential actions to ‘harden’ the system could be very expensive and the y y ppotential benefits are unquantifiable.”


Composite Pole CharacheristicsBut how do we quantify the impact to the utility operation, and more importantly the

cost to the consumer?

1. Impact on the Net Present Value (NPV) of1. Impact on the Net Present Value (NPV) of the grid

2. Impact on Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of the grid – quantify payback period

3 Q tif li d t i3. Quantify annualized cost savings


Composite Pole CharacheristicsGeneralized expression based on Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis for calculating the NPV of a utility grid


Composite Pole CharacheristicsPresent value of change in pole life‐cycle costs as a result of using composite poles (summed for all poles)

P l h tfl th f thiPole expenses are a cash outflow, therefore this present value sum is subtracted from the NPV of the grid. When these costs are reduced, the net change is negative, and there is a positive impact on the

NPV of the gridf g


Composite Pole Characheristics Present value of Depreciation Tax Shield (DTS) as a result of composite pole capital premium (summed for all poles)

DTS i h i fl th f thi t lDTS is a cash inflow, therefore this present value sum is added to the NPV of the grid. When capital

expenses increase, the net change is positive, and there is a positive impact on the NPV of the grid



Th i t th IRR f th id lti fThe impact on the IRR of the grid resulting from a single composite utility pole can be evaluated by

subtracting the old NPV from the new NPV (with p=1), and setting the result equal to zero.



Wood Pole Base CasePole service life (l): 30 years( ) yAverage discount rate (d): 11.0%Average rate of inflation (i): 3.0%Pole acquisition cost (A0): $3,000P l l t (R ) $1 500Pole removal cost (R0): $1,500Annual pole maintenance cost (M0): $75

2009falltdm 4 fecht, galen

Documents

longserviceli impact

termites wood peckers

pests impervioustotermites

net present value npv

longestservicep glife

lowmaint types