Six months since Tri-State Electrical Generation and Transmission Association first ordered a replacement voltage regulator for a damaged transformer at the Hernandez substation, Tri-State has replaced the crucial piece of equipment, Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative Operations Manager Johnny Lujan said Tuesday.
“They’ve already installed the part and have filtered out the oil to do maintenance on the transformer while it’s de-energized,” Lujan said. “If all goes well, they will re-energize and test the transformer. If it tests well, we’ll have (electrical) load on it by Thursday (2/5). There will be no power outage involved (because) we will pair a mobile transformer unit with the permanent transformer.”
Mobile transformers will be left on site “just in case” until Tri-State is comfortable that the repair has worked.”
Repairs were supposed to be completed in January.
Tri-State delivers electricity to the Jemez Co-op at the substation, and the Co-op serves about 30,000 customers in Rio Arriba and other Northern New Mexico counties. The faulty voltage regulator was at the root of regional and area power outages Dec. 9 and Dec. 11 when mobile transformers failed. The mobile units had been installed to temporarily replace the damaged permanent substation transformer.
Tri-State crews were seen working near a large green trailer at the substation Jan. 30 and told a reporter standing well outside the transformer fence that he was trespassing and to leave Tri-State property. A Tri-State employee from Rio Rancho, who would not identify himself by name, said the work crew was not installing the new voltage regulator, but refused to explain what they were doing. He said the workers had been told to refer all questions to Tri-State’s spokesman.
“Right now, they’re working on the installation and should be done by Thursday (2/5),” Tri-State Spokesman Jim Van Someran said Monday. “Whatever work they were doing Friday was somehow related to that repair to the 50 mVa (permanent) transformer. The part is on site already and just needs to be put in.”
Lujan said the green trailer was a transformer coolant oil filter that was being used to improve the transformer’s performance.