Our Member-Owned Cooperative Clients face a dynamic and increasingly complex environment to satisfy their core mission of providing reliable electricity to their Members at a reasonable and competitive price. Since our inception, our services have been designed to provide our Cooperative Clients with engineering and financial strategies to support the model that has become one of the most trusted in today’s market. Our diverse background and service offerings, including our experience with RUS, allow our Clients to focus on meeting the needs of their Member Owners. We are proud of our track record working for our Cooperative Clients and look forward to providing continued support for this important utility provider.
Sample projects are shown below. To request more information, visit our Contact Us page or call us at 830.249.3887.
NEW SUBSTATION
This project consisted of material specifications, engineering design, and construction bidding and contracting for a new 138kV x 24.9kV substation for a Cooperative located in Central Texas. Schneider Engineering’s scope of work included: Major equipment procurement; Engineering design including: Civil/Site Work Design, Electrical Design, Relay and Control Design, Underground feeder duct design, Foundation layout and details, including spill containment, Structural Design, and Preparation of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) Relay Settings; Plans and Drawings; Construction bidding and contracting; and Construction coordination and inspection. The Civil and Site Work design included: Conducting a topographic survey of the pre-construction site, Producing a topographic map of the site, Cut/Fill/Grading plans, Design of a decorative concrete security fence with manual swing gates, Highway entrance design, Coordination with Gillespie County to secure a highway entrance permit, Road widening and pavement design, Preparation of SWPPP plans and documentation, and Preparation and certification of a SPCC plan for the facility. (2017-2018)
COMMUNITY SOLAR PROJECTS
This Cooperative located in Central Texas coordinated with seven other Texas Electric Cooperatives (“the Consortium”) in a project to jointly solicit bids for the preparation of a Request for Proposal that provided them with means to then solicit proposals from companies that will design and install Community Solar projects on a turn-key basis on properties in their individual service areas. These eight Cooperatives provide reliable electric service to over 170,000 connected meters within their respective service territories. Schneider Engineering served as the Consortium consultant and our scope or work included: Preparing two joint RFP’s for the design and installation of Community Solar Project on a turnkey basis, including Six Cooperatives – One solar array that will initially produce no more than .99 MW AC at the interchange meter and Two Cooperatives – Two solar arrays that initially produce no more than .99 MW AC at the interchange meter(s); Issuance of RFP / Management of Proposal Responses including Issue RFP, Managing and responding to vendor information requests and questions, and Receiving proposals from vendors; Request for Proposal Evaluation including Fully evaluate and vet the responses of the RFP; Developing short list of suppliers from the RFP process; Attending short listed vendor meetings as requested by Cooperatives; Negotiating contractual agreements with preferred suppliers; Finalizing and implementing contractual agreements with preferred suppliers; Attending Cooperative collaborative meetings as requested by group; and Attending Cooperative staff / board meetings as requested by Cooperatives. The RFP requested technical and cost information regarding various options, such as tracking arrays vs. fixed arrays, SSA (Solar Services Agreements), PPA (Purchased Power Agreements), and other purchase / ownership options.
MAKE-READY EVALUATION
For this Electric Cooperative located in East Texas, SE performed Pole Attachment Make-Ready Evaluation and Engineering services for over 1,900 poles from January 2013 - July 2017. Projects were assigned on an as-needed basis. Field work included: Contacted Landowners and Business Owners to coordinate access to poles; Inspected condition of each pole; Inventoried each pole including conductor size and quantity , as well as communication size and quantity; Measured span length and line angles; Measured attachment and equipment heights; Measured diameter of anchors and guy wire; Measured circumference of poles when pole brand wasn't visible; Measured mid-span clearances and clearances over driveways; Surveyed highway crossings with total station; and Surveyed each stringing section of conductor and communication using the total station to determine tension. Schneider Engineering's scope of work included: Construction bidding and contracting, routine site visits, inspection services, routine meetings, consulting services, construction coordination, and preparing "As-Built" drawings. (2013-2017)
TRANSMISSION LINE REBUILD
This four-mile 138 kV project in Wimberley, Texas consisted of rebuilding and upgrading an existing 69 kV line. SE’s scope of work included: Landowner coordination; CCN application and meetings; Oversaw and managed project up to and including engineering, surveying, providing information for purchase and delivery of materials, and Construction Management; Updated schedules and preparing progress reports; On-site Construction Management; Prepared and developed necessary specifications for material procurement, construction and commissioning of project; Coordinated line survey and structure staking; Designed structures and foundations in accordance with all applicable codes including ASCE and NESC standards; Prepared plan and profile drawings in PLS-CADD; Provided detailed plans and specifications, drawings, maps, and other documents required for construction of the project. Provided all drawings (including “As-Built” drawings) for all facilities in the project including material procurement specification, equipment documentation, and vendor drawings; Provided all engineering information, data, and drawings required for procuring all necessary or desirable permits, licenses, franchises, authorizations from public bodies, and all necessary or desirable permits, licenses, or agreements with respect to the crossing of navigable streams, railroads, and power lines; and Provided all engineering information, data, and drawings required for procuring transmission line right-of-way through condemnation proceedings. (2018-Current)
DG FEASIBILITY STUDY
This Electric Cooperative contracted Schneider Engineering, LTD. (SE) to complete studies to analyze the effect of two Community Solar installations on their system at two different substations. For the first substation, two studies were completed, one for a 500 KVA system and one for an 826 kVA system. At the other, the study was completed for a 999 kVA with possible battery storage in the future. SE added the Community Solar installation locations to their Milsoft model including the expected demand output and fault contribution to the system. Voltage drop studies were completed for both peak and non-peak load levels during daylight hours to determine if any system improvements were needed to support the Community Solar addition. Historical interval data was reviewed to determine if backfeed through the substation bus was a possibility during off peak daytime hours. Fault analysis and coordination studies were also completed to determine the Community Solar contribution to the fault flow on the distribution system as well as coordination between sectionalizing devices during potential backfeed. Schneider Engineering's scope of work included: Managing preparation of DP/LSE audit response, serving as subject matter expert for audit, reviewing active standards with Client, ensuring appropriate documentation and evidence is provided, preparing written responses for each standard requirement, executing and submitting pre-audit questionnaire, reviewing all submittals and developing audit "game plan", and providing follow-up support. (2019-Current)
DP AND CIP AUDIT
Schneider Engineering’s audit support services include the development of comprehensive audit support packages tailored for both Municipal-owned Utilities (MOUs) and Electric Cooperatives (Co-ops). SE’s team develops and/or confirms compliance positions for each registration based on applicable standards; lead the development of RSAWS narratives and collection and review of applicable evidence to support these positions; and provide Client guidance, consultation and representation during audit proceedings. SE's audit support services included: Initial data information gathering / meeting; Preliminary function alignment to reliability standards; Follow-up questions / information requests; Prepared RSAW submittal; Finalized compliance playbook; and Participated as subject matter expert. (2018)
