New Initiatives /
Energy Department - About IID Energy -
IID Energy’s strategy is built around four core competencies. We are: 1) world-class in our ability to manage our physical and people assets; 2) a technologically competent organization, 3) proactive in assisting our customers in the management of energy, 4) actively developing leaders and managers who are accountable for delivering results. In 2005, to maximize these core competencies, IID Energy launched a series of multi-year initiatives. Each helps us provide better service to customers and to meet our goals of providing energy reliably and affordably. Click the links below for details on each individual initiative. Asset and Resource Management (ARM) To maximize our competency, “being world class in our capability to manage our physical and people assets,” the Asset and Resources Management Initiative was established in 2005. Its goal is to create consistent processes, management and technology tools to allow for proper planning, design and construction of major energy projects. The initiative helps management execute large capital projects in a timely manner, develop planning guidelines to support IID Energy’s direction, and work out a process for developing the overall energy plan. In 2006, the first seven projects were incorporated into IID Energy’s integrated SAP system software. Business processes were in place, end use training was conducted and management alignment was near completion. These successes have set the stage for using new tools in 2007. For the first time, a major construction project – will be monitored through the SAP system software. In 2008, the engineering of several major projects will also be tracked in SAP.
Top Critical Infrastructure Protection/Enhanced Security Prior to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, utilities nationwide focused their security efforts on energy control centers. Since September 11, 2001, the North American Electric Coordinating Council has been drafting a new permanent standard, the Critical Infrastructure Protection Standard, designed to protect all of a utility’s physical assets. While all utilities must meet the new standard, it’s particularly vital for IID Energy since it is one of just five Control Areas throughout California. IID’s Critical Infrastructure Protection/Enhanced Security program was established to meet the new federal guidelines. IID Energy is now in the process of implementing the new standard, which encompasses the entire energy operation -- all facilities, substations, distribution and generation centers. In 2006, a Security Command Center was initiated, and an Interim Superintendent for System Compliance was hired. At present, IID Energy is evaluating solutions to incorporate video surveillance and perimeter security at all critical locations and to monitor all video feed at one central location. Top Customer Relationship Management / Advanced Meter Reading Initiative Customer Relationship Management and Automated Meter Reading work together to achieve the same basic goal: helping customers use energy wisely and changing their usage patterns. Helping them shift usage to off-peak hours reduces IID’s costs of operation and lowers stress on the energy system. Reduced costs are essential to maintaining energy affordability. Reduced stress provides greater reliability and all customers benefit. IID Energy’s Customer Relationship Management initiative was launched to offer customers more choices, including demand-side management, energy efficiency programs, including rebate programs for commercial and residential customers. Automated Meter Reading improves meter reading accuracy and helps lower service costs. IID Energy is currently utilizing a number of different advanced technologies such as walk by and drive by radio frequency meter readers and meters that are read over power lines. Top Customer Service Proposal Improvement There’s no better way to learn how we’re doing than to ask our customers. So each quarter, IID Energy surveys builders and developers to get feedback on areas that need improvement. Residential customers offer feedback on an on-going basis through our Customer Service Representatives. Feedback is then used to create process or service improvements. Feedback can get lost, however, unless it can be tracked and shared with the appropriate employees. To more accurately capture and report on customer input, in 2005-06, IID Energy started using its SAP system software. Software is part of the equation. Training is the other. To improve IID’s response to customers seeking new residential or commercial service, last year, Customer Service Proposal managers completed intensive training in the utility’s SAP software. The program tracks new service requests from beginning to end and provides an audit at project completion. Greater proficiency by employees translates to better customer service. Top Energy Management System (EMS) Replacement IID Energy is one of six Control Areas in the State of California. So it’s essential to have real time information on all equipment used by systems Distribution and Transmission operators to monitor and control the power grid. Designed to bolster functionality and security, the Energy Management System (EMS) Replacement project was launched in 2006. In the past 12 months, specifications were written, a request for proposals created and vendors pre-qualified. In 2007, a vendor will be selected. Then a system will be installed that within seconds, will provide real-time, high reliability field data to dispatch operators. So if, for example, a driver hit a power pole, causing a disruption in service, or a storm caused an outage, an operator would know within seconds. Receiving this type of mission critical information faster will enable IID Energy to respond quicker than ever before. The new system will also perform self-diagnostics to ensure all information if reported accurately.
Top Energy Safety Compliance There are few greater risks in delivering energy than employee accidents. At the same time, there are few greater measures of organizational success than reducing incidents. Thanks to IID’s Energy Safety Compliance initiative, launched in 2005, IID Energy has slashed its incident rate by over 50%. As a result, what was first envisioned as a three-year initiative has earned “evergreen” status. Now, the program is part of every day life at IID Energy. It started in November 2005 when an in-house Safety Compliance Section was formed. Five fulltime Energy Safety Technicians were hired. They were tasked with putting safe work practices in writing, then training employees on the practices. In 2005, 62 standard work practices were written. By the year’s end, employees had been trained on the first 52. Writing and training will continue throughout 2007, along with the performance of crew audits. The program is a wonderful example of teamwork between management and employees, both dedicated to safety first! Top Generation Projects After carefully considering its economic and operational performance, in 2005, IID took a number of steps to meet the needs of its rapidly growing customer base. Through a competitive bid process, two major generation projects were approved that will expand both base load and peaking capacity: repowering the El Centro Steam Plant Unit #3 to increase operating output, and construction of the Niland Gas Turbine Plant. The projects, which together will generate approximately 200 MW of energy, are being developed on a nearly parallel path. In 2006, the IID Board of Directors approved construction of the Niland Power Plant. Two high-efficiency, low-emission, low-noise LM6000 gas turbines were purchased, and an engineering procurement construction contract signed. Progress has also been made on the El Centro repower. A contract was signed with GE for one Frame & EA combustion turbine and the project team is in process of completing the permitting phase. Construction on both projects is slated to begin in 2007 with completion anticipated in 2008. Top Geographic Information System Few projects offer the type of global benefits provided by IID’s new Geographic Information System (GIS). When complete, GIS will map IID’s entire electrical distribution system and build connectivity from substations to customers. While advanced connectivity is always important, it’s particularly crucial in an area expanding as rapidly as IID’s service territory. In 2006, a substantial percentage of IID Energy’s manual records were entered into the new GIS database. Last year, field crews counted and mapped 47,000 poles, nearly 7,000 street lights, and 33 circuits! It’s a huge job to map and accurately enter all of that data into the new electronic system. More mapping is slated for 2007. When complete, all electrical assets will reside in a central repository, and information will be integrated into IID Energy system software. As new assets are added to the system, they’ll simultaneously be added to the GIS system. Benefits include enhanced customer service with improved access to information, greater accuracy, reduced cost of service, and faster response to problems in the field. Top Materials Supply Chain When maintenance issues and unexpected problems occur, or service expansions are underway – one key to timely completion is having the right materials in inventory. So to better meet customer needs and control costs, in 2005, IID Energy adopted a Material Supply Chain mission: “Provide the right material at the right time to meet our customer’s need.” Improving inventory control and accuracy will be a multi-year effort. To begin, an assessment was conducted of Material Supply Chain procedures. The assessment helped determine what materials are needed in inventories, quantified inventory turnover rates, established the total budget number for inventories, and compared the planned lead time for ordering materials to the actual lead time required. A great deal of progress has already been achieved. In 2006, a Materials Planner was hired, and improved inventory control procedures were implemented. By the end of 2007, inventory costs are expected to decline substantially, due in part to vendor warehousing partnerships negotiated in 2006. Top PN Notifications March 1, 2007, IID Energy “went live” with a new Power Notification (PN) Outage Restoration Process that enables management to better understand, trend, and benchmark reliability performance. The new notification system also improves IID’s ability to respond to customers who are experiencing problems with their electric service. Notices are designed to record all relevant information when a customer calls to report a case of trouble. The notification then becomes the document that drives reliability reporting. In the new system, the notices are integrated into IID’s SAP system software, so all concerned employees have access to the same information. Project goals are improving the consistency of reliability performance data, assuring that data is useful to stakeholders, improving data integrity and security, producing accurate industry standard reliability statistics, and producing needed reports. By gaining the ability to define reliability performance based on industry standards, IID Energy will also be able to benchmark its reliability against other utilities.
Top Rotational Engineering Program and Expanded Apprenticeship Programs IID Energy is committed to recruiting and developing leaders among its employees. One program launched in 2006 is expected to yield significant long-term results. The Rotational Engineering program offers engineers fresh out of college a way to develop their skills and relationships en route to becoming Professional Engineers and career IID employees. The Associate Engineers rotate through various IID Energy departments at six-month intervals. If they complete the four-year program, and pass their Fundamentals of Engineering and subsequent Professional Engineer exams, they are guaranteed jobs within IID. The recently expanded Apprenticeship program offers similar opportunities. Once offered only to Linemen, four-year apprenticeships at IID now include Electricians, Generation Mechanics, Meter Technicians, Relay Technicians, System Control and Data Acquisition/Telecommunications Technicians, and Substation Electricians. Upon completion of their after-hours coursework and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training each year, they receive bi-annual merit raises. Since its inception, the Apprenticeship program has had a near 100% completion rate. Top Transmission and Distribution Inspection and Maintenance Scheduled maintenance is a must in a rapidly-growing utility. Recently enacted Transmission and Distribution Inspection and Maintenance procedures are designed to maximize IID’s investment in physical assets and to meet state guidelines. IID Energy is presently conducting a physical inspection of all its above ground assets as well as a California Public Utilities Commission required inspection of assets below the surface. IID has contracted with INTEC to perform the inspection. INTEC teams are currently in the field, drilling holes into poles measuring density, looking for termites and other forms of damage; IID crews will then perform maintenance on a priority basis. With over 700 underground structures (including transformers vaults and underground cabinets), approximately 120,000 wood poles in the system, more than 700 underground structures, over 1,700 distribution poles and 380-plus transmission poles – it will take three years to complete the initial inspection. As mandated by California regulations, the wood pole inspection will then be repeated every five years.
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