western area power administration · general counsel a0200 ... chief financial officer a8000...

1 Department of Energy Radio and Spectrum Technology Workshop

“Transformation Through Partnerships”

WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION

Presented by:

Scott Johnson

Spectrum Program Manager

Telephone Number: 720-962-7380

Email Address: [email protected] April 19, 2012

mailto:[email protected]



WESTERN’ S MISSION: Western markets and delivers

reliable, cost-based hydroelectric

power and related services.



Organization Chart Timothy J. Meeks

Administrator

A0000

Liova Juárez

General Counsel

A0200

Richard Gallegos

Economic Impact &

Diversity

A0300

Robert Fullerton

Power Marketing

Advisor

A0020

Jack Dodd

Power Marketing

Liaison

A0500

Theresa Williams

Corporate

Communications

A0600

LaVerne Kyriss

Senior Planning

Advisor

A0010

Robert J. Harris

Upper Great Plains

Region

B0000.BL (Billings, MT)

Harrison G. Pease

Chief Financial Officer

A8000

Anthony Montoya

Chief Operating

Officer

A7000

J. Eun Moredock

Chief Information

Officer

A2000

Jim Keselburg

Rocky Mountain

Region

J0000 (Loveland, CO)

J. Tyler Carlson

Desert Southwest

Region

G0000 (Phoenix, AZ)

Tom Boyko

Sierra Nevada

Region

N0000 (Folsom, CA)

Bradley Warren

CRSP Mgmt Center

L0000 (Salt Lake City, UT)

Patricia Winn

Technology Center

Regional Support

A2200

(Vacant)

Operations Center

A2100

Debra Bean

Procurement

A7100

Frances Telles

Human Resources

A7200

Stan Adcock

Electric Power

Training Center

A7300

C. Shane Collins

Natural Resources

A7400

Terry Dembrowski

Safety & Security

A7700

Mike Cowan

Technical Services

A7800

Phil Davis

Design

A7900

(Vacant)

Budget & Analysis

A8100

Gary Michelson

Finance

A8200

Baudelio Flores

Compliance & Audit

Liaison

A8300

Nicholas Stas

Environment

B0400.BL

Ron Boyer

Safety & Security

B0700.BL

Robin Johnson

Management

B1000.BL

Matt Miller

Information Technology

B2000.BL

Lloyd Linke

Power Systems

Operations

B4000.WT

Stan Gliko

Maintenance

B5000.HU

Bob Riehl

Power Marketing

B6000.BL

Jody Sundsted

Financial Management

B8000.BL

Thomas Knoell

Transmission System

Construction Advisor

J0002

Jim Hartman

Environment

J0400

Bill Marsh

Safety & Security

J0700

Cathy McCartney

Management

J1000

Linda Buderus


J2000

Ed Hulls

Power Systems

Operations

J4000

Clark LeDoux

Maintenance

J5000

Ron Steinbach

Federal Power

Programs

J6000

Larry Maass


J8000

Penny Casey

Energy Management &

Marketing

G0200

John Holt

Environment

G0400

Troy Henry

Safety & Security

G0700

Cathy Castle

Management Services

G1000

James Potts


G2000

Ron Moulton

Power Systems

Operations

G4000

(Vacant)

Maintenance

G5000

Deborah Emler

Federal Power

Programs

G6000

(Vacant)


G8000

Howard Hirahara

Utility Industry

Restructuring Advisor

N0010

Anita Wiley

Program Support

N1000

Sonja Anderson


N2000

Darren Buck

Power Systems

Operations

N4000

Chuck Cooper

Maintenance

N5000

(Vacant)

Power Marketing

N6000

Pamela Vandre


N8000

Carol Lofton

Rates

L6100

Burt Hawkes

Power Resources &

Contracts

L6200

Jeff Ackerman

Energy Management &

Marketing

L6300.MT

David Welker


L8000

David Shelton

Transmission System

Planning & Reliability

L4400

7/07



Organization Chart

•The Design Office - Electrical Engineering

- Civil Engineering

- System Control

-Senior Telecommunications Engineer

-Spectrum Program Manager



Personnel Summary

Number of Federal Employees: 1375

Number of Contractor Employees: 300

Training Issues: Western has generally not had any training

issues other than finding time to take the training with heavy

work loads.

Retention / Acquisition Issues: Western has an extremely large

area of operation and covers some pretty remote parts of the

country. It has been difficult to find qualified communications

technicians and engineers willing to accept positions at these

remote duty stations.



Western Today



Western’s Transmission System



Western’s Communication System



Western’s Mobile Radio System



Land Mobile Radio (LMR)

• Band(s) of Operation: 162-174 MHz

• Number of Mobiles: 825

• Number of Portables: 280

• Number of Repeaters 150

• Number of Consolettes 100

Spectrum Use

Government Owned Systems

Key User Communities: Operations – Power System Control,

Maintenance – Power System Repair, and Construction



Microwave Radio Systems (fixed point to point)

• Band(s) of Operation: 406-420 MHz

932-944 MHz

4400-4950 MHz

7125-8500 MHz

• Number of Links 381

Other Systems (Video, Wireless LANs, etc)

• Unlicensed wireless networking equipment is handled by the IT group.

Unlicensed Systems

• Unlicensed (spread spectrum) wireless communications are handled by the Maintenance group. They operate in the 2 and 6 GHz bands. - Unlicensed radio is only used in remote rural areas with no interference potential. - Many unlicensed systems have been replaced with licensed ones, few remain (~8). - Not used for critical operations.

Spectrum Use

Government Owned Systems



Spectrum Use

Commercial Systems

Pagers:

• Not used for power system operations

• Limited administrative use only and

being phased out by Blackberries.

Cellular Telephones:

• Quantity = ~ 615

Leased Equipment or Services



Equipment Refresh Plans

Equipment Type: • Fixed Point to Point Radio

• VHF Mobile Radio

Years Already in Service: • Varies from 1- 26 years for fixed

• VHF was installed between 2000-2005

Projected Timeframe for Replacement (if known)

• Fixed radio is continually replaced based on age and resource

availability, typically at 15 years.

• Currently investigating replacement of the mobile systems in the next

3 years.



Interoperability / Public Safety / Sharing

Memorandums of Understanding (MOU)/Memorandums of Agreement (MOA) Most of Western’s sharing agreements are with other interconnected utilities or government entities. • There are some sharing agreements with state agencies regarding building and tower space.

Shared Federal Frequencies

• Joint microwave systems built with other utilities operate in the 7-8 GHz band

Shared non-Federal Frequencies

• Joint microwave systems built with other utilities operate in the 6 GHz band

Participation in State, Local, Tribal Public Safety or Interoperability forums

• There are currently no sharing agreements with Public Safety entities specifically

and therefore no participation in such forums.



Issues / Challenges

Western’s current issues and challenges:

• Wind generation farms interference with existing fixed radio

• Interference from Mexico (Ad Hoc 170)

• VHF Interference from Canada and coordination problems

• Lack of cleared DOE frequencies along the Canadian border

• Hopeful that Ad Hoc 181 can resolve, but it may be a long time

• Currently more spectrum dependant work than staff can address



Belle Prairie, MT



Telegraph Pass, AZ



Kremmling Solar Repeater, CO



Guernsey Repeater, WY



Glendo Repeater, WY



Hoover Dam, NV



Hoover Dam Repeater, NV



Hoover Dam Power House, NV



Hoover Dam Generator



Snorkels for Ventilation in Heavy Snow



Buffalo Pass Communication Site



Buffalo Pass building Under Snow, 2003



Tower Icing



Collapsed Steel T-Line Structure – Icing



Conductor Ice



Transmission System Currents are High



System Protection Failures



Wind Turbine Failure



QUESTIONS ?

Thank You !

western area power administration · general counsel a0200 ... chief financial officer a8000...

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