Electrical Distribution Upgrade
Erdman Anthony provided electrical and civil engineering services to upgrade a major portion of Loop Circuit #4/14 in the 4.16-kilovolt medium-voltage site distribution system at SUNY Geneseo. The upgraded system included rerouting a major portion of the underground loop (approximately 2,300 feet) to include the feed from Clark (the source building) to the Brodie, Bailey, Erwin, Integrated Science Center, Greene, and Newton buildings.
The design included a thorough site investigation to obtain an optimum new route, which minimized interruptions on campus, minimized the impact on existing landscaping/hardscaping, and segregated the pathway so that no part of the loop would overlap at any point.
Project phasing included a means to install and energize the new system, with minimal impact to the campus’s ongoing operations. The new loop segment was designed to accommodate the campus’s future plans to convert the site distribution from 4.16 kV to 13.8 kV.
The design also included a comprehensive full load flow, fault, and coordination analysis to confirm reliable system operation, including providing the breaker settings for the feeder at Clark and the local vacuum breakers at each building.
Erdman Anthony also provided the civil engineering necessary to route the new underground segment, including the pedestrian and vehicular traffic control during construction and the landscape/hardscape restoration.
To minimize project costs and reduce the impact on campus operations during installation, Erdman Anthony worked closely with the campus to devise a way to utilize existing conduit, where possible, and to phase the installation tasks in a way to minimize campus electrical outages.
Our firm also researched and included in the installation specifications the use of cabling and separable connection components that were left over from the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering and design that Erdman Anthony provided for the Bailey Hall rehabilitation project, which were suitable for use on this project.
The lead electrical engineer also stayed involved and played a crucial role during the bidding and construction phases, including working a 14-hour day on the day of the outage and system tie-in. During the outage, the lead electrical engineer worked closely with the electrical contractor to make the necessary connections at Clark, which were suspect in nature and could not be confirmed until the actual outage occurred.