The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has launched the Expedited Priority Pole Program to reduce the amount of time and technical resources required to replace transmission poles in a niche criteria.
The initiative will streamline the process to replace pre-existing wood poles to minimize potential infrastructure failure and improve reliability of BPA's grid.
“During our many discussions, we uncovered certain wood pole structures might be eligible to be replaced quicker than other poles provided they met a predetermined criteria by each approving stakeholder team," said Marty Flansburg, civil engineer in Transmission Program Management. “Our teams then collaborated on a set of requirements that a potential structure would need to meet."
By identifying structures requiring little to no engineering design or environmental review, which can significantly add more time to the project, the team expedited a group of poles for quick replacement.
The effectiveness of the program was noticed after Olympia and Chehalis Transmission Line Maintenance crews completed a change out of 15 structures, totaling 30 poles, on the Port Angeles-Sappho transmission line.
“Our teams were able to perform this work safely while keeping the line energized and not disturbing power to a community of 6,500 people, who were connected to this line," said Cody Smith, lineman foreman III on Olympia TLM.
The two teams completed the installation in nine days. Smith's team installed a fire-retardant wrap designed to add fire protection to the new structures in addition to replacing the structures. This protection measure wraps around the bottom of the wood poles, and when exposed to extreme heat, provides flame resistance and survives outdoor weathering.
The program has supervised the replacement of 131 wood pole structure (262 poles), with another 350 structures approved and awaiting outages for construction. The process to design, improve and install these same wood pole structures will take around three to four years traditionally.
The accelerated improvement of transmission infrastructure provides BPA's customers with enhanced service reliability and efficiency.
The Expedited Priority Pole Program supports BPA's 2024-2028 strategic plan, which stresses on improving customer service and operational efficiency, by redirecting resources from simpler projects to more complex ones, allowing BPA to achieve its objectives efficiently.
"This program saves our agency resources and helps identify infrastructure that can be prioritized and resolved in a short amount of time," said Jennifer Bailey, Field Strategy and Operational Excellence Manager. “By modernizing our business systems and processes, BPA will continue to make good on its strategic plan commitments."
