Customer:
Metropolitan Airports Authority
1 Aviation Circle, Suite 230
Washington, DC 20001
General Contractor: Cynergy Electric Company, Inc.
1612 Professional Blvd Suite H
Crofton, MD 21114
Cynergy was awarded a contract for $2,365,356 in May 2019 for the replacement of two 1000kVA 4.16kV/480-volt substations, 480V switchboards, panelboards, automatic transfer switch, several 208Y120 volt transformers, and disconnect switches and associated cables/conduits.
The nature of the installation being on Airport property involved a great deal of scheduling due to the feeders supplying power to essential buildings that were affected. Confined space permits and Lock/tag out procedures were also paramount to successful completion of the project.
Principle features of the project were:
Replace 4-5kV switches
Replace 4-1000kVA 4.16kV/480V dry type transformers
Replace 2-2000A 480V switchgear with draw-out breakers
Replace 2-480V switchboards 1200 and 600-amp
Replace 2-208V 800-amp switchboards
Replace 1-400kVA and 1-300kVA 208V dry transformers with 2-225kVA transformers
Replace three panelboards
Replace 1-600A 480V motor control center
Replace 4-4/0 5KV feeders and splice to existing cables in manholes
Replace an existing door to the substation room
Provide new concrete house-keeping pads
Provide grounding, identification tags and arc-proof tape in manholes
Provide third party NETA testing on cables and all new equipment
The facility had to remain operational 24/7 during construction. All service outages had to be limited to off hours coordinated and approved by the owner. A detailed construction sequence was developed and had to be approved by the owner before any outage could begin. The project required all outages to be performed during work hours that would not interfere with the building occupants. Logistics of the project were difficult at best. There were complex rigging requirements to deliver the new transformers and switchgear to electrical rooms. Phased outages were required for the installation of the new switchgear and transformer equipment.
All work was performed by qualified and certified high voltage technicians. All technicians go through annual OSHA training for confined space, lock-out/tag-out, electrical safe work practice, ARC flash and many other certifications. Cynergy is one of few contractors that is a certified MVPower Contractor by TE Energy (Raychem). Any products installed by MVPower Certified Contractors, using Raychem 5-35KV medium voltage splice and termination power cable accessories, provide a twenty (20) years warranty after installation. To become a certified MVPower Contractor extensive training and validation for products used by all technicians were performed. All technicians are also certified by the National Cable Splicing Board which certification is designed to assure personnel handling medium voltage cable and components are properly trained. In the medium voltage service industry, you will inevitably come across unusual cable or uncommon applications/requests from customers. Cynergy has the staff to tackle unusual or difficult applications, older cables, and customized product applications.
Commissioning and field testing were a large component in the project. Third party testing was provided for all medium voltage equipment, switchgear, switchboards, and cables. Factory field services were provided for the hands-on training, classroom training and operation and maintenance manuals were provided for all operational systems. Other items provided by Cynergy were an arc flash, short circuit & coordination study, new concrete house-keeping pads, new doors to electrical rooms, construction scheduling, quality control, safety and security were important elements of the entire project. Cynergy used Procore™ project management software to help manage the project.
