Pillai Sreejith

Electrical Risk Assessment for Electrical Utility Companies

EUC ERA Technical Note

Pillai Sreejith

Electrical Risk Assessment (ERA) Study Electric Utility Company

I. Introduction

A comprehensive Electrical Risk Assessment (ERA) study was carried out for a EUC (Electric Utility Company) in western India for their operations from the electrical safety point of view. This EUC supplies electric power to a city in Western India, for a mix of consumers (residential, commercial and industrial). The safety issues involved in distributing electric power to a typical Indian city made this Electrical Risk Management project an interesting & challenging one for our team. Benchmarking this EUC against the global best practices / national & international standards was one of the elements in the scope of work.

II. Electrical Risk Assessment (ERA) Elements

The specific elements that were mutually agreed in this project are given below:

Electrical Risk Assessment (ERA) Element

Scope of Safety Audit

Electrical Hazards Physical inspection to identify electrical hazards (shock, fire, flashover and explosion) in various EUC operational areas and to suggest electrical safety solutions.

Electrical Preventive Maintenance System

Review of electrical preventive maintenance system (including procedures and frequency of tests, documentation, history cards, etc.) for all the electrical equipment & installations mentioned above. The assessment will be based on all applicable national standards and best industry practices. Evaluation of adequacy and competence of testing equipment and instruments and make recommendations

Electrical Accidents Review of electrical accidents and near misses in the EUC operational areas to identify the root causes. The audit will also suggest practical recommendations to minimize electrical accidents.

Electrical Systems and Procedures

Review of electrical systems & procedures (work permits, interlocks, lockout tags, etc.) to identify operational hazards & non-compliance to defined procedures / standard practices.

EUC Safety Management System

Review of the importance given to electrical safety in the company safety policy, safety committee (if applicable), continuous electrical hazard identification, etc. and make suitable recommendations to institutionalize the process

EUC ERA Technical Note

Pillai Sreejith

Earthing System Review of the earthing system (installation & maintenance aspects), including sample earth resistance tests at a few EUC installations.

Contractor Safety System The contractor safety requirements relevant for EUC operations will be assessed against the existing practices. A few elements that will be assessed would be PPE, work practices, minimum qualification & experience for workmen, training, etc. Review of existing contractor safety manual will also form a part of the audit.

Emergency Communication System

Assess the existing emergency communication system for EUC operations and to suggest suitable recommendations to manage emergencies. Also to make recommendations for emergency or disaster management plan

Cabling The HT and LT overhead power lines and underground cable installation practices will be assessed from the safety point of view.

Training To assess the existing training system (training identification, training modules and post- training assessment) and to recommend measures to have an effective training system to enhance Electrical safety.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

To identify and review the PPE requirement for EUC operations, including height jobs. Usage of appropriate PPE in the EUC installations and the maintenance practices followed will also be reviewed.

Focus Areas:

LT equipment and distribution network Personal Safety (EUC employees, Contractor personnel/ public) PPE/ tools issues Standard Operating Practices followed Work permit System followed

III. ERA Methodology

Pillai Sreejith adopted the following methodology to carry out the ERA study. The audit team held detailed discussions as part of the pre-audit exercise with the co-coordinator of the EUC to agree on the ERA study scope, methodology, etc. This interaction ensured that all elements are addressed & precise scope is defined as part of the ERA exercise. The attached flow chart shows the ERA process.

Pre-Audit Finalizing the ERA scope, in consultation with EUC Submission of technical proposal (scope of work, auditors’ profile, technical expertise, audit

methodology, data request) Finalization of audit dates (based on mutual convenience)

ERA Audit

EUC ERA Technical Note

Pillai Sreejith

Opening meetingo To communicate the audit scope & methodology of audit to EUC officialso To identify audit co-coordinator from the EUC side

Audito Visit to power receiving stations, distribution switchyards and various consumer

installationso Discussions with various EUC departments (Mains, Controls, Commercial, HT Cell,

Transformer & Switchgear Department, Vigilance, Receiving Stations, Stores, contractors, corporate planning, training, etc.)

o Sample measurements (earth tests, temperatures, etc.)o Review of records / documents

Close-Out Meetingo A presentation to brief EUC management about the salient observations on completion of

the audit

ERA Post-Audit

o Submission of interim report, containing high priority recommendations within 2 weeks of audit completion

o Submission of draft report o Final report submission, incorporating EUC commentso Providing clarifications to EUC in the recommendation in implementation stages

IV. ERA Team

The audit team consisted of two senior electrical engineers (31 & 16 years experience) and an experienced engineer, an expert in loss prevention / safety management (17years experience). The audit was carried for nearly 10 days.

V. ERA Coverage:

66/11 /0.415 KV outdoor switchyard, involving transformers, various metering / protection/switching equipment, etc.

66/11 / 0.415 KV Sub-Stations HT / LT - Overhead power lines and underground cabling Various power distribution equipment like bus bar chambers, Low tension panels etc

located in the city (around 16000 in number) Meter installations at consumer premises (residential, commercial & industrial) Earthing Installations & Sample earth resistance measurements Hotspot temperature measurements

VI. How ERA Helped EUC?

EUC ERA Technical Note

Pillai Sreejith

A comprehensive evaluation of existing systems and procedures related to EUC operations & maintenance was carried out as part of ERA.

A critical assessment of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was carried out as part of the ERA. High Risk Operations (HRO) were identified and then appropriate PPE were recommended.

The guidelines provided in the report helped the EUC to revamp the existing electrical safety management system.

The Electrical Safety Performance Indicators (ESPI) recommended in the ERA for each department helped EUC to develop customized ESPI. Tracking safety performance became easy for the EUC this way.

The accidents happening at the EUC were not grouped and analyzed. ERA provided various guidelines on accident investigation and analysis so as to identify focus areas.

EUC had documented Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) but the document also had many other details and engineering specifications. ERA recommended removal of all information other than SOPs so as to make the document more focussed.

VII. Post ERA- EUC Perception:

Sl. No. Rating Element Rating (maximum score-10)

1 Technical excellence 92 Promptness in Response 93 Adhering to Delivery Schedules 74 Sharing of information 9

Contact:

Please contact Pillai Sreejith for clarifications / details through e mails: pillai_sreejith@hotmail.com.

EUC ERA Technical Note

Pillai Sreejith

EUC Electrical Risk Assessment Flow Chart

EUC ERA Technical Note

Defining boundaries of ERA

Data collection and Review

Meetings at site

with EUC

Site visit

Identification of

areas for further improvement

Interaction with EUC employees

Developing Recommendations