Eaton : Innovative Modular Substation Solution Helps Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative Quickly Add Capacity to Meet Customer Demand

PITTSBURGH, PA - Power management company Eaton today announced a contract to provide Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative with a Modular Integrated Transportable Substation (MITS). The factory-assembled solution is designed to help the electric utility support safe, reliable and cost-effective power to rapidly meet growing customer demand in Blanco, New Mexico. Eaton's engineering experts will provide complete turnkey support from substation design to assembly and delivery to enhance safety and increase operational predictability. Contract terms were not disclosed.

"Eaton's modular substation design will enable us to meet our members' evolving power requirements much faster than a traditional solution," said Joseph Sanchez, general manager at Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative. "The factory designed and tested substation will also help decrease commissioning and installation complexity to minimize overall project cost."

Faced with the challenge of quickly adding transmission capacity to meet the needs of an expanding industrial customer, the utility needed to expedite the construction of a new substation. Eaton's integrated power assembly was the best solution to reduce the engineering time required for the project to help maintain the customer's desired timeline, while factory assembly helped avoid construction and weather-related delays.

"By working with Eaton, Jemez Mountains Electrical Cooperative was able to create a replicable model for rapidly meeting growing customer demand with safe, reliable, high-quality service," said John Gadbury, utility segment manager, Electrical Engineering Services and Systems Division, Eaton. "The flexible, expandable design of the substation will also provide the scalability to form larger, more complex substations to easily accommodate future capacity additions."

The MITS platform incorporates a flexible, expandable and portable design in a compact footprint that is engineered to accommodate current and future power needs. The configuration engineered for Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative will include pad-mounted switches and integrated switchboards, as well as reclosers and voltage regulators to enhance power reliability.

The completely self-contained design will help the electrical cooperative enhance personnel safety by using all dead front components. The MITS unit also incorporates tamperproof, locked enclosures to enhance security. Further, by utilizing shield-grounded medium voltage cable in a totally enclosed configuration, the solution is less susceptible to environmental, wildlife and other damage than equivalent open-air systems.

The highly compact MITS unit is engineered to fit on a traditional concrete pad, pylons, or crushed gravel base and meets evolving power requirements. The modular substation will help Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative reduce project costs because each unit is factory-assembled, wired and tested to minimize on-site labor, quality issues and time.

To learn more about the MITS substation platform, visit www.eaton.com/MITS.

Eaton has one of the largest and most experienced teams of power system engineers in the industry. Eaton's Electrical Engineering Services and Systems team offers a comprehensive portfolio of services tailored for every stage of a power system's life cycle, whether design, build or support. To learn more, visit www.eaton.com/service.

Eaton's electrical business is a global leader with expertise in power distribution and circuit protection; backup power protection; control and automation; lighting and security; structural solutions and wiring devices; solutions for harsh and hazardous environments; and engineering services. Eaton is positioned through its global solutions to answer today's most critical electrical power management challenges.

Eaton is a power management company with 2014 sales of $22.6 billion. Eaton provides energy-efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more efficiently, safely and sustainably. Eaton has approximately 102,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 175 countries.www.eaton.com.