Here are some highlights of projects planned for the various operations areas this year. It is not meant to be all inclusive, but to give you a peek at some of the many projects on the calendar.
Alpine
Upgrading of the Persimmon Gap substation is scheduled to take place this year. It will help accommodate future growth in South Brewster County.
Plans for the year include the completion of the line upgrade from Panther Junction to Rio Grande Village, which will help with reliability in that area.
The planned solar array near Study Butte will help improve power quality for the area.
Brackettville
The Fawcett Tap System Improvement Project that began in 2022, will conclude this year. This includes the replacement of approximately 150 poles, hardware and conductor (line) on a feeder serving north of Comstock to the Dolan Creek area.
Another System Improvement Project is the Com- stock to Langtry System Improvement Project, which also includes the replacement of approx. 175 poles, and associated cross arms, hardware and conductor on the Comstock Substation Feeder 1, which runs northwest of the Comstock Substation towards Langtry. This system improvement project, which is approx. 12 miles of 3-phase line, should improve service and reliability to members in the town of Langtry and surrounding areas.
The third project will also include the replacement of 125 poles, cross arms and hardware north of Brackettville on FM 334 and FM 674 on the Brackettville Substation Feeder 2 and Feeder 3. This system improvement project is approximately 9 miles of 3-phase line just north of Brackettville.
Carrizo Springs
Major undertakings in this area include replacing the existing power transformer at Rosita Creek Substation, (14MVA) with a new power transformer (25MVA), to accommodate load growth which is expected due to continued residential and commercial development in the Eagle Pass area. There will be at least 20 underground transformers installed at subdivisions in the Eagle Pass area, as well as approximately 14 area lights.
Additionally, the conductor (line) size will be upgraded from #1/0 ACSR to 336 ACSR from HWY 277 to Chula Vista.
The 23-mile long line between Eagle Pass and La Pryor along Highway 57 is slated for rebuilding to upgrade, which will help mitigate outages and blinks.
Dell City
The Dell City operations area is scheduled for several system improvements this year, including a project in the Van Horn area, which will rebuild 2.8 miles of 3 phase line. This will entail changing out about 60 poles and assemblies.
In the same area, planned projects will place de- vices on the line that will reduce voltage issues. These are “trip-savers”, capable of opening and closing a cuicuit 4 times to clear the fault. These are superior to fuses, which blow immediately. The new devices should help ease bird-related issues, as well.
In the Cornudas area, the placement of devices will be conducted to assist in the isolation and detection of faults, to help reduce outages.
A project at the Hueco Substation includes an up- grade to help with switching, when it is needed on the transmission level. The power transformer will be removed and replaced by the installation of a 115 breaker.
El Paso
This operations area primarily serves Fort Bliss. Among the priority projects at the base this year, the Fort Bliss Team will be installing voltage regulators at the Doña Ana Base Camp. This will improve and regulate incoming transmission power from El Paso Electric, due to multiple voltage variations at the UAV(Un-manned Aerial Vehicle) Complex. The voltage regulators will reduce variations and increase power quality at the Doña Ana Base Camp, and support future increased electrical loads.
Additionally, sectionalizing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) switching for system interruptible at Pike and Taps Feeders will be installed. Crews will be installing overhead auto- mated devices to remotely control from the RGEC control center.
Added to the Fort Bliss Capital Improvement Plan, is the Liberty Water Storage Tanks project at the new Army Hospital. The water storage tanks lo- cated south of the new Army hospital are presently being powered by El Paso Electric. The Director- ate of Public Works has requested RGEC to supply power to the Storage Tanks and to be transferred over to our inventory. This will provide significant energy savings to the government.
LED lighting will be installed along Bradley Rd. and Jeb Stuart Rd. Approximately 42 light poles will be installed, which will result in decreased power interruptions normally caused by aged conductor and insulating capabilities. LED lights have a positive impact on energy reduction to the lighting circuit with cost savings.
Lastly, the Fort Bliss Team will remove overhead transformers and complete pole replacement projects that will include the replacement of approximately 346 poles, over 51,338 feet. of conductor, the installation of approximately 60 new LED lights, and approximately 42 overhead transformers at various locations inside the Ft. Bliss installation.
Fort Stockton
The complete transition of office and operations to move from current Fort Stockton office to the new Fort Stockton campus. Including the relocation of the entire inventory, fleet, and mechanic shop. This includes the renovations to the office building to accommodate Fort Stockton operations, and the renovations to the second office building to create an RGEC Business Conference Center.
Area four is scheduled for 26 miles of 3 phase line to be replaced, including poles, cross arms, and arresters on the 406-1. This line will also be re spanned for future upgrade of conductor if necessary. The right of way will also be cleared for the 26 miles making troubleshooting during outages faster and safer. This will complete the entire 406- 1, improving reliability from the Pat Lee substation south west of Ozona to Dryden, which serves approximately 300 meters.
The 10 acre dual generated solar array will feed into the existing system, providing yet another cost-saving source of energy for members.
RGEC Solar Energy Sites
RGEC’s solar arrays have faced supply chain is- sues, as discussed during the annual meeting, but are anticipated to be operational by the 3rd quarter. Locations and sizes are as follows:
- South Brewster Co. - 3 Megawatts (MW)
- Ft. Stockton - 2 MW
- Del Rio - 1 MW
- Brackettville - 3 MW
- Brundage - 2 MW