6.2. ERMUSR 03-14-2006!~+Ji
Elk River
Municipal Utilities
13069 Orono Parkway
Elk River, MN 55330
March 7, 2006
To: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission
Jerry Takle
John Dietz
Jim Tralle
From: Bryan Adams
Subject: Padmount Switchgear
phone: 763.441.2020
Fax: 763.491.8099
On Wednesday March 8, 2006, bids were received to furnish and deliver padmount
Switchgear for our various underground projects. Bids are being reviewed. A bid
tabulation and recommendation will be presented at our meeting.
The Switchgear being recommended above represents a large deviation from past years.
In the past, the padmount gear we purchased is of painted mild steel construction, air
insulated, live front with fuses. We are starting to see corrosion problems and paint
failures with the mild steel. The live front means 7200 v. termination are exposed and
can present a hazard to employees working on this equipment. Fuses if they fail need to
be kept in inventory and they are relatively expensive. This pass year we have
experienced a couple of outage due to contamination from the air gear.
The equipment we are proposing is painted stainless steel instead of mild steel, vacuum
switch in insulating oil instead of fuses in air insulation, and dead front instead of live
front design. The proposed gear is far superior to the equipment we were previously
purchasing, but it comes with a much higher price tag in the area of 80% higher. It is a
hard economic pill to swallow, but with our system it is time to go to the better
equipment.
Attached for your reference, is a picture of what this gear looks like.
M FAULT INiERRUPiEH
Kyle's VFI padmounted
switchgear provides a simple,
economical approach to
switching and protection
requirements for 15, 25, and 35kV
underground systems. The
modular design of VFI Vacuum
Fault Interrupter switchgear allows
the switching system to be
tailored to specific requirements
without the high cost of custom
construction.
The VFI resettable breaker
mechanism allows immediate
service restoration, eliminating the
added downtime and expenses
associated with changing out
conventional fuses.
VFI padmounted switchgear is
versatile in application. It is suited
for utility and
commercial/industrial
requirements, and is easily
adaptable to standardized
distribution systems.
VFI switchgear is a product of
Cooper Power Systems, proven
by years of continuous field
experience.
Deadironf Construction
For Added Safety
The deadfront construction of VFI
padmounted switchgear offers a
safety factor for utility personnel
and the general public. Inside, all
terminators are covered with
insulating rubber. All internal parts
are completely sealed in an
insulating medium to reduce
maintenance and eliminate the
problems of moisture, dirt, and
wildlife commonly associated with
air-insulated switchgear.
In addition, the VFI can be used in
locations where air-insulated
switchgear cannot, such as flood
areas or high-contaminant
industrial sites.
Vacuum
Technology
Cooper Power
Systems' Kyle°
Distribution
switchgear products
incorporate vacuum
technologies which
have advanced the
durability and
extended the
application base for
vacuum products.
Kyle vacuum interrupters employ
axial-magnetic field contacts
which keep the arc in an easier-
to-interrupt diffuse mode, resulting
in less power in the arc that needs
to be dissipated. Furthermore,
Kyle's patented design uses the
entire contact surface, resulting in
far less contact erosion and the
longest life of any vacuum
interrupter in the industry.
I
1
I
i
'
i
;
I
I
i I
i
I
~
1
I
O
~ ~
3
O
.~.
~k
~
,_.,
~i ~"'
~
'W
I ~,
~
jN
p
N I I o to ion ~o, 'o
ia~ o~ ol, ioi ;o~, ioi
I ~ ; f .~ ~' ICI ~i M I ~~;
I Qr .-r i,-~j M ICI
I i I ji'O~' N Imo! M', i'Ch! ~Q~
I M~, ~; I'mo' ~~! '~
~'i I ~ ', 69 ', I 69 ! '. M ~,
i N I i i, ~ I 5~9 69 III sf3
IN pi ~ i O O' pi II
^"' '
W i O
N
Iv-,N. i- I C
I I,p I ~ ~ ', ~ p; 'iQ, I p' I
~~i~ I ~N~ NI ;mil I~ I,~~, I ~
I~ •~I ~ ~•--~ ;~ I~~
I ~~i I ~ ~ ,a~ ~ Ni INI (Nyl' I I
i c~~ ~ i I ~ ~ 6411 ~ I~~
IWI~p ~ ~I ~ j I I I I
i
I
I I
•U O i
~Ij I
I ~ ~
I i I mo;
~ I
i i I I ~ I I i
~
N
~
~
' I ~ i
I
'Cf ~
O
a I
~
I
I
I
~~ ~~ ;~ i~
v'~ ~O I
c'~ l~ ~
I ~ i
I ~
~
~ ,
I
j
~ I ~
i j ~
'
~; ', NI
Mi N
iN
! '" ' it !I ^' ',I M I
I
1
- __ ~ i
~ _ +-' O
~ ~i I
-- ~- 6!9
W 69 , 69 ; 69 i ~ 69 69 i
~1
I~ ~
~ ~ ~
~ ^
~ T
~ F
IN~ I --1 .._
i
I O _
1
I
I I
0 !~I I
i i ~ C/~j Q ~ O I
i
.I
d'
I
I
I ~i
'd N
b~A i
i
~
I ' s ~,
~I ~ Mi oO~ O
INI ~~I ~~~ '
I mo ~
° wi ~
.~~ I I ~~ ~! ;~! ~~, ICI I
I'
i I I ~I ~ I
I i ~I M. ~~! INi III,
i
i
--
-
___F
~
-_ _ ~_
-, - _ _
-,
~
I I
~ i
I
I
~'
~
'
I
i
.~ ~
~+
~ I
O, ~
i ~
I ~ ! ~I
~, I
I
I ~,
I
i ~ ~ II
I i II I ' I
i
`~ ~,l o, ~ ~ I I II I
~ ~ N I ~ i I ~ j I I
U ~
I
I i
I
I
I ~ I
V] ~
M C I
O ~ I >, ~
~ +--~ I
I i
O 's^~ ~ , ; r-,I ~~
~ ~
O ~ ~ ~+ I i ~ ~ i i ~ I i ~ ', ~ it I ~ i I
Q ~I ~ ~ j ~ ~ ~ ~~~ i y; I ~~~
W~ a w I Q, ~,~ ~ I ~ !~I! ~; ICI F.,I