See how cable rejuvenation allowed a rural electric coop to proactively get ahead of faults, while saving its members tens of millions of dollars in the process.

The Intermountain Rural Electric Association (Intermountain REA) began to experience an increasing number of failures with cable laid in the in 1970s and ‘80s. By proactively rejuvenating entire neighborhoods before cables failed, the utility improved service levels to a 99.4 percent reliability rate and saved tens of millions of dollars.

Highlights:

• Utility saved more than $10 million over projected replacement costs
• 2.5 million feet of cable rejuvenated to date
• Hybrid iUPR and SPR approach combined to yield a 99.4 percent reliability rate on treated line

Overview:

The Company and the Situation:

Many segments of aging cable were failing frequently in the Intermountain REA service area. The standard operating procedure was to replace cable that had faulted more than three times, but this approach proved unsustainable. An increasing number of segments failed and cable replacement costs, including pavement and landscape restoration, grew too high.

The utility had experienced a significant increase in feeder failures, bringing with it a growing number of customers without power. Facing high replacement costs and a lack of knowledge about the condition of much of the underground cable, Intermountain REA decided to use cable rejuvenation more widely to address the problem.

Evaluation Process:

The first step for Intermountain REA was to combine cable testing and limited cable rejuvenation to systematically identify, prioritize, and then address their worst URD cable. Over time, they noticed an issue with this approach. While a section of URD cable might test well, this process did not predict future failures. As Intermountain REA became comfortable with the Novinium cable injection process and results, it decided to proactively rejuvenate wider areas rather than just sections of lines.