January 2012 Capital Investment - National Grid

Exhibit ___ (EIOP-19)Page 44 of 684Table II-17Transmission – Steel Tower StrategyProgram Variance ($million)CIP FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 Total2011 4.1 7.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 - 11.82012 - 0.3 .0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3Substation RebuildsThe majority of the 313 transmission substations are in satisfactory condition however, insome limited circumstances, investment is recommended to rebuild substations whoseoverall condition has deteriorated to the point that wholesale refurbishment is required.In these circumstances, a standard substation design layout will typically be utilized toprovide greater operational flexibility and increase reliability for customers served in thearea. Where substation rebuilds are proposed, creative and innovative solutions andimprovements, such as re-configurations of the layout, will be evaluated.There were eight stations being studied for either upgrades or rebuilds to better meet thecurrent and future needs of customers on the transmission system: Gardenville, Dunkirk,Rome, Rotterdam, Lockport, Lighthouse Hill, Huntley and Oneida.The investment profile for substation rebuilds has been re-phased to reduce costs in thePlan, and reflect DPS Staff concerns that each of these eight projects will require fairlycomplex retrofits and changeovers of existing facilities. The Company has re-phasedthe projects to allocate additional time and resources to plan and design the projects andto provide a greater opportunity to consider and develop alternative approaches,consistent with Staff’s recommendation in the Company’s recent electric rate case. As aresult, only the Gardenville and Rome stations are now proposed for rebuild during theFY13 – FY17 period along with Phase 1 of the Oneida rebuild to facilitate thereplacement of a metal-clad substation. At the remaining sites the Company will onlyreplace those assets that cannot be repaired economically. Although a morecoordinated, integrated approach is more consistent with long-term sustainability of thesystem, the ad hoc “fix on fail” approach results in lower capital costs in the short term.Drivers:Gardenville and Rome been identified as having asset condition or configuration issuesthat warrant a major station rebuild or upgrade. 16 Included with the station name is theforecasted spend amount within this Plan.16 See “Report on the Condition of Physical Elements of Transmission and Distribution Systems,”October 1, 2008, Exhibit 2, p. V-66 (Upstate NY Asset Health Report for Transmission. at p. 62,section 6.8.2) and “Report on the Condition of Physical Elements of Transmission andDistribution Systems,” October 1, 2009, Page III-68 through III-77.II-2745