AMPS CHALLENGE

Automated Maintenance of Protection Systems Challenge

Make power systems more reliable by automating maintenance testing of

protective relays and associated potential and current transformers.

Can you help further Reclamation’s mission to protect their hydroelectric plants? Do you want to work
on a big infrastructure problem? This Challenge gives you the opportunity to improve the safety and
reliability of hydroelectric powerplants and to win your share of the $250,000 prize purse.

To participate, you will need to create a prototype that automates maintenance testing of the plants’
protection systems. Your solution will improve the safety and reliability of the plants, keep the energy
flowing while the tests are run, and allow engineers and operators more time to address other important
issues.

Challenge Overview
The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is looking for solutions to automate comprehensive testing of
the existing protection system at hydropower facilities. This $250,000 Challenge seeks prototypes that
automate protection systems testing without requiring plants to be off-line and that are not labor
intensive. While there can be a variety of approaches to solve this challenge including a single tool, a
group of tools, a continuous monitoring system, or a surveillance system, all solutions must result in a
decrease in the employee time required for testing, an elimination of plant downtime for testing, and an
increase in plant safety and reliability. Solving this challenge will increase hydropower plant generation
reliability and avoid the opportunity cost of unit outages. The solutions are being requested by
Reclamation for their hydropower facilities however, solutions will likely be applicable to many other
protective relay systems.

Reclamation is the largest wholesale water supplier in the United States, operating 53 hydroelectric
powerplants that produced 40 billion kilowatt-hours, on average, annually for the last 10 years. After the
2003 Blackout, a comprehensive list of testing protocols was developed and designed to prevent another
large power outage. The results are included in the North American Electric Reliability Corporation
Protection and Control (NERC PRC) regulatory standards which outlines key activities required to achieve
basic utility reliability. NERC PRC-005-6, Protection System, Automatic Reclosing, and Sudden Pressure
Relaying Maintenance includes the required testing and maintenance protocols related to this challenge.
The current testing protocols are labor-intensive and often require the plant to be off-line; however, the
NERC protection system maintenance standard allows for most of the maintenance activities to be
automated and, with the extensive adoption of microprocessor-based relays, this automation is possible.

The AMPS Challenge will have two phases, a White Paper Challenge, and a Prototype Challenge. The
Challenge will last fourteen months from the White Paper Challenge launch to the final Prototype
Challenge award. Solvers will have 5.5 months to deliver a White Paper submission describing their
technical approach to the problem. Up to ten solutions will receive an award of $10,000 to move forward
in the Prototype Challenge. Solvers will then have 5 months to complete their prototype. Preliminary
judging of the teams’ written and video submission will be used to select up to five prototypes for testing
by Reclamation at a partner facility in Colorado, USA. Selected teams will ship their prototypes, at
Reclamation’s expense, along with all supporting materials to the testing site. These prototypes will be
tested for the ability to solve the challenge, ease of use and set-up, and ability to address additional tests
and features. One winning prototype will be awarded up to $100,000. Additionally, individual Benchmark
Awards of up to $10,000 each will be awarded to prototypes that excel in specified performance areas.
Winning teams will also have a potential opportunity for a Cooperative Research and Development
Agreement or other technology transfer agreement to further refine the solution. Winners are planned
to be announced on July 11, 2022.

Guidelines
Description of the Challenge
Power systems rely on protective relays to monitor critical electrical quantities and initiate emergency
shutdown on the detection of out-of-limit conditions. Instrument transformers, such as potential
transformers (PT) and current transformers (CT), reduce the power system currents and voltages to
levels usable by protective relays and other control and metering devices. Instrument transformers for
metering purposes must have a high degree of accuracy to ensure precise billing while those used for
protection must react correctly during fault events. Protective relays are an essential component of the
protection system of a power system; they monitor critical electrical quantities and initiate emergency
shutdown when they detect out-of-limit conditions. The relays must correctly detect abnormal
conditions, shut down the appropriate equipment, and must not operate incorrectly or unnecessarily. All
relay settings must be kept up to date and any changes must be documented and verified.

Note: Most of the tests required for this Challenge are included in either NERC PRC-005-6, North
American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Protection and Control (PRC) regulatory
standards, section 005-6 which covers Protection System, Automatic Reclosing, and Sudden
Pressure Relaying Maintenance, or Reclamation’s FIST 3-8, Facilities Instructions, Standards, and
Techniques (FIST) volume 3-8, Operations, Maintenance, and Field Test Procedures for Protective
Relays and Associated Circuits. Additional information can be found in Reclamation’s FIST 4-1B,
Maintenance Scheduling for Electrical Equipment.

Required Automated Maintenance Procedures

The primary automated maintenance procedures required for this challenge are verifying relay settings,
relay analog to digital inputs, and PT and CT signals at the relay (magnitude and phasing), found in NERC
PRC-005-6 Table 1-1.

To verify the relays settings are correct, an online test must be performed to download and compare the
settings within a relay to saved default settings. If any settings have changed, the test must produce an
alarm and highlight which settings do not match. Additional corrective maintenance would then need to
be performed to determine the source of the error.

To verify the proper signals are reaching each relay and recorded correctly by the relay, an online test
must be performed for each protective relay. The test verifies that the operation of the PT or CT, the
wiring between the PT or CT and relay, and the relay analog to digital electronic inputs are functional and
the correct signals are being recorded. This is accomplished by verifying the magnitude and phase angles
of the secondary voltage or current signals as recorded by each relay and comparing this signal to other
relays or revenue/power meters located on the same powertrain. When the values are obtained and
compared, if the difference in magnitude is greater than approximately ± 5 percent or the difference in
phase angles is greater than approximately ± 5 degrees, the test will produce an alarm that signals are
out of specification and additional offline testing, as part of corrective maintenance, would need to be
performed to determine the source of the error. For CTs this test measurement is typically performed
when the primary bus equipment is loaded at approximately 10% or higher current to ensure adequate
current signals are available to reduce measurement errors.

Multiple sets of CTs and PTs and the associated relays and revenue/power meters are often connected to
the same powertrain. Therefore, instrument transformer output signals (magnitude and phasing) that
are received at a particular protective relay can be verified for acceptable levels by comparison of the PT
and CT secondary ratio and polarity values as recorded by the other various relays and meters on the
same powertrain. This requires that the proposed solution must be able to communicate with these
various relays and meters and if an error is detected in a system with three or more CTs or relays, the test
will need to identify which instrument transformer signal or relay electronic input is in error.

Many different manufacturers’ protective relays and meters are used in hydroelectric powerplants.
However, Reclamation primarily uses Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) relays and meters and
thus, at a minimum, the solution must work with SEL equipment. All relaying and metering equipment
that can be awarded points in a solution to this Challenge are listed here. It is anticipated, but not
required, that the solution will utilize a microprocessor to communicate with relays.

Figure 1 shows a conceptual design of a final solution. Note: a submitted solution cannot simply be a
replica of this design.
 FIGURE 1: Conceptual Design

Additional Maintenance Tests

Relay Event Data
When a relay does detect an abnormal condition and shuts down equipment, it will save data and
information about that event internally. Because the relay has limited storage capacity, the information is
not saved long term. However, it is important to save and have access to this data and information for
analysis. Therefore, it is essential that this event information and data is downloaded and saved external
to the relays whenever a relay event occurs.

Burden Testing
Burden testing is important to verify that the transformer is operating correctly and does not exceed its
burden rating. If a transformer exceeds its burden rating, a relay may mis-operate or not operate at all,
endangering the power system, facility, and workers. Therefore, it is important to monitor instrument
transformers burdens.

Instrument transformers are capable of providing accurate signals as long as the load, also known as a
burden, is within the instrument transformer stated specification. Adding additional loads, long lead
wires, or additional devices to the output of the instrument transformer can overburden the instrument
transformer. If the capacity of either a CT or PT is exceeded, the transformer cannot accurately measure
current or voltage—especially CTs during a system fault—thus, giving protective relays false information.
For PTs, this means its load impedance is greater than its stated burden, and for CTs, this means its load
impedance is less than its stated burden. To verify the PT and CT burdens are correct, an online test must
measure the burden of each PT or CT and verify that these measurements are within specifications. If
any reading is not within tolerance then the test must produce an alarm and highlight what burden
measurement is out of specification. Additional corrective maintenance would then need to be
performed to determine the source of the error.

Figures 2 and 3 show an example of solution for acquiring burden measurements using a remote data
acquisition (DAQ) module that would measure the 3-phase PT or CT secondary voltages and currents.
Figure 2 shows connection points to a CT and a PT along with voltage and current measurement value
ranges. Figure 3 shows a typical three-phase connection to a microprocessor relay that includes the
remote DAQ units.

Note: this device would need to be in close physical proximity to the monitored PTs and CTs. It may be
possible to daisy chain the communication line back to the main monitor (microprocessor) as shown in
Figure 1. This is one example of how the problem might be solved; any solution that measures burden
will be evaluated.
Solution Requirements
The solution must solve the required criteria. The solution can also address some or all the additional
items. These items will be considered in the judging for both the White Paper and the Prototype. In
addition, Benchmark Awards will be given to the best solutions for these items.

All solutions must perform the activities listed below automatically without input from operators.

All solutions must eliminate plant downtime for testing.

All solutions must automate required protection system maintenance tasks.

All solutions must decrease employee time required for testing and cannot be labor-intensive. However,
solutions that meet the other requirements and require extremely limited employee intervention to
perform would be acceptable.

Solutions that do not address SEL relays and meters will not be accepted.

The solution must be scalable from 2 relays to at least 12.

The solution must be able to read multiple devices simultaneously or nearly simultaneously. This is
specifically important when verifying that the proper signals are reaching each relay and recorded
correctly by the relay.

Solutions utilizing components prohibited by current US government regulations, executive orders, or

rules or that do not comply with NERC regulations will not be accepted.
Solutions must minimize the cost, both initial and recurring costs, including the cost of hardware,
software, and licensing fees. 

Proposed solutions and hardware must be able to perform all functions without access to the internet,
so plan accordingly throughout the design and build phases.

All products and code delivered under this competition will only be installed and tested in a power
simulation laboratory environment.

All products and code submitted during Phase 2 will be independently verified to prevent malicious
activity. For security reasons, the Government will replicate, either directly or through the use of a third
party, any submitted solutions before it is installed at an actual facility. Therefore, all code, drawings,
hardware list, and anything else necessary to replicate the solution must be included in the final
submission. Code must be adequately documented, commented, and organized to expedite review and
reproduction. All submitted material must be suitable for duplication in its entirety by Reclamation or a
designated 3rd party for Government use.

Solutions cannot require an internet connection.

The solution must:

● Verify relay settings:

o Relay settings must be downloaded from the relay.

o Must include the option to use the recent downloaded relay settings as the default.

o Subsequent relay setting downloads must be compared to the default settings and
produce an alarm when any change is identified.

o Operator must be able to select the testing interval.

o Relay setting test results must include an output file highlighting the differences
between downloaded relay setting and the stored setting. File should be saved as .csv,
.xls, or .txt.

● Verify acceptable instrument transformer signals are delivered to and properly recorded by the
relay:

o Relay analog to digital input electronics is functional and within a predefined tolerance.

o Potential Transformer (PT) and Current Transformer (CT) signal is available at the relay
and within tolerance.
Note: These tasks can be combined and accomplished by comparing the magnitude,
phase angle, phasing, and polarity of the AC measurements to an independent source.
The independent source can be an independent second relay or meter connected to an
independent instrument transformer.

o Produce an alarm if out of tolerance.

o Operator must be able to select the testing interval and measurement tolerance.
 ● Store all results and the times performed including relay setting comparison test and acceptable
instrument transformer signal test to show NERC PRC-005-6 compliance. The results must
download manually via a portable storage device or a temporary communication link with a
computer. An additional option for download via a secured network is encouraged to be
provided. File should be saved as .csv, .txt, or .xls.

● Work with Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) relays and meters.

● Function as a stand-alone system. Solution cannot require a connection to the internet or any
external network. A dedicated computer can be used to program and update the prototype and
to download and store data. The option to include a secured network connection that can be
used to interface with the prototype and/or to download data and reports is encouraged.

● Produce an alarm should there be an internal problem with the prototype or loss of power.

● Alarms shall include a normally open or normally closed contact rated for 130VDC resistive load.

Additionally, the solution could: 

● Download and store relay event files. Should include all events and information stored by the
relay when the relay is triggered.

● Measure and store instrument transformer burden for PTs and CTs as described in FIST 3-8.
Produce an alarm if out of tolerance. Operator must be able to select the testing interval and
measurement tolerance.
Note: this requires an external device.

● Work with additional manufacturer’s relays and metering equipment.

● Provide interface options with a network connected computer or internet-based system.

● Address additional maintenance procedures from the NERC PRC-005-6:

o Protection circuit timing data.

▪ Verify time between relay output contact closing and lockout relay trip.

▪ Verify time between lockout relay trip and circuit breaker trip.

▪ Verify time between circuit breaker trip and break main contacts open (current
interrupted).

o Verify correct operation of relay binary (status) inputs.

o Verify correct operation of relay binary outputs.

o Verify station DC supply voltage and check for unintentional grounds.

Note: this would require an external device or the addition of a DC relay monitor.

o Verify correct operation of protection system communication systems:

▪ Functional test
 ▪ Performance test

▪ Input and output test

● Address additional PT/CT tests as described in FIST 3-8:

o Online Instrument transformer Single-point Ground Test

o Online Instrument transformer Insulation Resistance Test

o Online Current Transformer Excitation Test

The solution requirements and the additional items are highlighted in these versions of the NERC
PRC-005-6 and FIST 3-8 tables (see highlighting key at top of each page).

The full versions of NERC PRC-005-06 and FIST 3-8 provide additional information on these tests.

Schedule

White Paper Challenge Launch March 17, 2021 1:00 PM ET

Webinar with Reclamation April 7, 2021

Phase 1 – White Paper Submission Deadline September 3, 2021 11:59 PM ET

Preliminary Judging September 3 – October 1, 2021

Panel Judging October 1, 2021 – November 1, 2021

Phase 1 – White Paper Award Announcement and November 3, 2021

Presentation

Phase 2 – Prototype Challenge Launch November 10, 2021

Webinar with Reclamation Week of December 6, 2021

Phase 2 – Submission Deadline April 4, 2022 11:59 PM ET

Phase 2 – Preliminary Judging April 4 – May 6, 2022

Phase 2 – Prototype Ship Date May 6, 2022

Phase 2 – Lab Testing June 6 – June 8, 2022

Phase 2 – Final Judging June 9 – July 10, 2022

Final Award Announcement and Presentation July 11, 2022

Prizes
Total purse: $250,000

Prizes throughout this competition will include a combination of cash awards and collaboration time
with Reclamation staff to develop solutions to a field readiness level of maturity. 

White Paper Challenge: up to 10 prizes of $10,000 each will be awarded to the top white papers for a
total of $100,000 in Phase 1 prizes. If less than 10 white paper solutions are selected for a prize, the
remaining funds will be forwarded toward the Prototype prize awards.

Prototype Challenge: the best prototype will be awarded up to a $100,000 prize. In addition, awards of
up to $10,000 each will be presented for solutions that excel in individual benchmarks for a total
prototype purse of $150,000.

Along with the cash prize, the winning teams will have a potential opportunity for a Cooperative
Research and Development Agreement or other technology transfer agreement to further refine the
solution.

Note: Reclamation reserves the right to negotiate licenses for additional submitted solutions.

Phase 1 – White Paper Challenge

Submissions for the White Paper Challenge must demonstrate your understanding of the problem space,
your understanding of interface requirements and protocols needed to communicate with various
manufactured relays and meters, your ability to complete a prototype, verification testing, interface tests
with various relays, and your approach. Submissions will be PDFs uploaded to the Challenge site.

The submission must detail:

● Proposed hardware to be used.

● Hardware schematics.
● Operation of the hardware.
● Programming code language.
● Program logic diagrams.
● Sample of proposed output reports.
● Text descriptions and datasheets for proposed solutions of required elements.
● Text descriptions and datasheets for any variations on the solution and for any additional tests
included in the solution.
● Demonstration of solvers ability/skill to complete a prototype.

White Paper Submission Requirements

Note: A team or individual may submit more than one solution to the challenge. However, each
submission must be a substantially different solution. For example, if the solutions use different
hardware or use a novel approach to the solution those may be separate submissions. If the solutions
are variations using the same hardware and only have minor differences in the usage of the hardware,
they should be submitted as a part of a single submission. You will have the opportunity to explain the
differences between your solutions or the variations within your solution. 

All submissions must be written in English and cannot be handwritten.

Each submission must include:

1) Cover Page: 

a) Submission Title

b) Executive Summary of your solution (limit 300 words)

Describe how you approached the challenge including hardware used, programming language,
and general explanation of how your solution functions.

c) Team Members

i) Team Lead or Individual Submitting

This is the primary contact for the submission. All communication from the Challenge
Operations will be through the Team Lead.

(1) Name

(2) Email address

(3) Phone number

(4) Area of expertise

ii) For Team Members

(1) Name

(2) Area of expertise

d) Additional Submissions
If you have submitted other solutions to this Challenge, for each additional submission include:

i) Submission Title

ii) Description of the differences in approach to the solution (limit 300 words for each
submission)

2) Solution Description:
a) Describe your solution (limit 2500 words)
Include information to help the judges understand your solution and why it is the best solution
to the challenge. Include:
i) What makes your solution stand out? What are its unique features? 
ii) How does your solution address each of the solution requirements?
iii) What is your plan for completing the prototype? How do you plan to test the prototype prior
to judging? Who will be working on the prototype, what skills do they bring to the problem?
 How will you finance your project? How much time do you anticipate spending on the
project? What challenges do you anticipate and what contingencies are you planning for?
b) Variations (limit 500 words per variation)
If you have included any variations on your solution, what are they? A variation is defined as a
different usage of the same hardware. Describe the variations and how they differ.
c) Additional Tests and Features (limit 500 words per item)
What additional tests and features are included in your solution? These are the items listed in
the section, “Additionally, the solution could.” For each test or feature, describe your solution. 
3) Additional Included Information (supplemental to the solution description)
a) Hardware (1000 words and up to 2 pages of representative schematics)

i) Description of all hardware to be used.

ii) Description of the hardware operation.

iii) Hardware schematics.

iv) Which manufactured relays does your solution work with? List the manufacturers and
models.

v) Demonstration of understanding of relay or meter communication hardware to be

implemented.

b) Programming (500 words and up to 3 pages of code snippets and logic diagrams)

i) Programming code language to be used.

ii) Sample program logic diagrams. 

iii) Summary of output results.

iv) Demonstration of understanding of solution programming challenges and how they will be
met.

v) Demonstration of understanding of relay or meter communication protocols that will need

to be implemented.

c) Additional optional tests and features included with your solution, if any (500 words and up to 2
pages of schematics, code snippets, and logic diagrams for each test or feature).
Include any schematics, code snippets, logic diagrams, and descriptions to show how you
approached the test or feature.

White Paper Judging Rubric

Criteria Description Weight

Proposal 25

Proposal Quality Is the proposal complete? Does it address the challenge? Is the
information presented clearly? 

Problem Does the team have a clear understanding of the problem? Is

Comprehension there a clear explanation of how their solution addresses the
challenge?

Approach Is the solution viable? Does the white paper explain their
approach to solving all the requirements? Are their coding
examples clear and workable?  Does the solution include any
unique or innovative solutions to the challenge? Are the
hardware, software, and licensing costs of the proposed solution
reasonable?

Plan and ability to Does the team have a clear plan to complete the prototype? Do
Complete Prototype the team members have the skills to complete the prototype? Do
they understand the costs, time, and facilities needed to
complete the prototype? Do they recognize potential challenges?

Required Solutions 35

Relay Settings Does the solution demonstrate the ability to verify and record
settings on SEL relays and alarm on change, and document the
changes? Does the documentation adequately support this?

SEL Relays and Does the solution demonstrate the ability to properly work with
Meters SEL relays and meters? Does the documentation adequately
support this?

Transformer Signals Does the solution demonstrate the ability to verify that PT and
CT transformer signals are delivered and recorded by the relay
and are within tolerance, produce an alarm when out of
tolerance, and allow the operator to set the testing interval?
Does the documentation adequately support this?

Output files Does the solution create an output file that can be formatted to
show NERC PRC-005-6 compliance?
External Does the system produce an alarm on internal diagnostic trouble
Communication and loss of power. Does the solution support external
communication protocol via an external computer or ethernet
connection?

Additional Solutions 25

Instrument Does the solution demonstrate the ability to measure and store
Transformer Burden instrument transformer burden? Does the documentation
adequately support this?

Relay Event Files Does the solution demonstrate the ability to download and store
relay event files? Does the documentation adequately support
this?

Other Does the solution demonstrate the ability to properly work with
Manufacturer’s the manufacturer’s relay? Does the documentation adequately
Relays support this?

See list of relays at this link.

Variations on the Is the variation clearly described and defined? Are the
Solution differences between the primary solution and the variation
adequately explained? Does the variation add value to the
submission?

Additional tests or Does the solution demonstrate the ability to solve the test or
features feature? Does the documentation adequately support this?

Overall Impression 15

Holistic view of Judges’ impression of the submission. Sense of the overall

proposal viability, innovation, thoroughness, potential to complete a
winning prototype.

Note: All proposals must adequately address the Required Solutions to be eligible to continue in the
Prototype Challenge. Addressing Items in the Additional Solutions section will not only help your White
Paper Challenge but also will be eligible for Benchmark Awards in the Prototype Challenge.
Phase 2 – Prototype Challenge
The Prototype Challenge will begin after the White Paper Challenge Winners have been announced. The
Prototype Challenge is only open to the White Paper Challenge Winners. All winners of the Phase 1,
White Paper Challenge will be eligible to continue into the Phase 2, Prototype Challenge.

During the Prototype Challenge, teams will develop and deliver a final prototype to be tested at a
partner laboratory in Colorado, USA. Reclamation will pay for reasonable shipping costs to send
prototypes to the testing facility. No final submissions will be installed within a Reclamation power
facility but rather they will be used as a laboratory prototype to guide future product development. Prior
to any submitted design being utilized at a power facility following the competition, the code and
hardware would be independently replicated by the Government, either directly or through the use of a
3rd party, and thoroughly vetted.

Prototype Submission Requirements

Note: The prototype submission requirements will be finalized prior to the completion of the White
Paper Challenge.

Submissions must include: the prototype; detailed design specifications suitable for 3rd party coding,
engineering, manufacturing, and assembly of the prototype; instructions for set up and operation of the
prototype; and video and written introduction to the features of the prototype. Final design submissions
must include access to all software code and a list of all hardware components and circuit schematics.

Prototype Judging Rubric

Criteria Description Weight

Required Must be solved to be considered for testing 30

Relays Settings Does the prototype verify and record settings on

SEL relays and alarm on change, and document
the changes?

SEL Relays and Meters Does the prototype work with SEL relays and
meters?

Transformer Signals Does the prototype verify that PT and CT

transformer signals are delivered and recorded by
the relay and are within tolerance, produce an
alarm when out of tolerance, and allow the
operator to set the testing interval?
Output files Does the prototype create an output file that can
be formatted to show NERC PRC-005-6
compliance?

External Communication Does the solution support external

communication protocol via an external
computer or ethernet connection

Quality of Submission 35

Setup and Documentation Was the prototype easy to set up based on the
installation instructions? Were the instructions
complete and easy to follow? Is code adequately
documented, commented, and well organized.

Speed Is the prototype able to read multiple devices

simultaneously or nearly simultaneously?

Scalability Is the prototype scalable? How many relays is it

designed to handle? How many could it handle?

Ease of Use Is it easy for operators to identify issues? Is it

easy for operators to change testing intervals?
Are reports easy to read? How much operator
effort is required to run the maintenance tests?

Adaptability Is the prototype designed in such a way that it

could easily be adapted for other relays or
meters?

Creativity/Unique approach Was there a unique or creative approach to

creating the prototype. Does the prototype solve
the problem in an unexpected way?

Additional Solutions Note: Benchmark awards are available to the 20

solutions that best address most of these criteria.

Instrument Transformer Burden Does the prototype measure instrument

transformer burden?

Relay Event Files Does the prototype download and store relay
event files? Does it include all events and
information stored by the relay when the relay is
triggered?

Other manufacturer’s relays Does the prototype properly work with the
manufacturer’s relay?
Variations Does the variation add value to the solution?

Additional tests or features For each additional test or feature:

Does the prototype adequately solve this test or
feature?

Submission Overall Performance 15

Holistic view of submission Judges’ impression of the submission. How well

are the various aspects and features of the
submission combined into a final product. Sense
of the overall viability, innovation, thoroughness,
and completeness of the working prototype.

● Note: For security reasons, the Government will replicate, either directly or through the use of a
third party, any submitted solutions before it is installed at an actual facility. Therefore, all code,
drawings, hardware list, and anything else necessary to replicate the solution must be included
in the final submission. Code must be adequately documented, commented, and organized to
expedite review and reproduction. All submitted material must be suitable for duplication in its
entirety by Reclamation or a designated 3rd party for Government use. Also, for security
reasons, the solution cannot require an internet connection.

Benchmark Awards
Awarded to best innovation in some or all of the following areas:
● Instrument Transformer Burden Test
● Relay Event Files
● Other manufacturer’s relays
● Additional tests or features
● Ease of use - Control interface, software interface
● Innovation – ability to use hardware in unique fashion, unique solutions, bringing something
more to the solution, unexpected, elegance of solution.
● Costs
● Quality of Output Reports

Rules
Bureau of Reclamation and employees of Challenge partners reserve the rights to update or modify this
challenge at any time. Updated material will be made available to all participants.

Eligibility Requirements
All team members must meet Freelancer eligibility policies. 

All team members must agree to and abide by the Terms and Conditions of using the Freelancer
Website.
All team members must attest that their solution is original and does not violate Freelancer’s Copyright
Infringement Policy.

All team members must be at least 18 years old and must be eligible to receive payment under the laws
of the United States. United States federal sanctions prohibit participation from individuals and teams
from certain countries
(see: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/Programs.aspx).

Bureau of Reclamation and employees of Challenge partners are not eligible to participate. Federal
employees acting within the scope of their employment are not eligible to participate. Any individual or
entity associated with the development or administration of this challenge is ineligible to compete.
Government contractors working on the same or similar projects are ineligible to participate in the
Challenge.

Funds from U.S. or foreign government organizations should not be used to directly fund the
development of a solution to this Challenge. Solutions that were previously developed with
Government/Federal funds, or where Government/Federal funds, including but not limited to, employee
time, materials, and reviews, were utilized to prepare the submission or solutions are prohibited.

Submission Requirements
Solutions must originate from either the U.S. or a designated country (see definition of designated
country at https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-25#FAR_25_003), OR have been substantially
transformed in the US or designated country prior to prototype delivery pursuant to FAR 25.403(c). 

Solutions utilizing components prohibited by current US Government regulations, executive orders, or

rules or that do not comply with NERC regulations will not be accepted.

All products and code delivered under this competition will only be installed and tested in a power
simulation laboratory environment. For security reasons, the Government will replicate, either directly
or through a 3rd party, any submitted solutions before it is installed at an actual facility. Therefore, all
code, drawings, hardware list, and anything else necessary to replicate the solution must be included in
the final submission. Code must be adequately documented, commented, and organized to expedite
review and reproduction. All submitted material must be suitable for 3rd party duplication of solution in
its entirety for Government use.

Submissions must be uploaded to the AMPS Challenge page before the deadline, September 3, 2021 at
11:59 pm ET. All submissions must be in PDF format, in English, and machine readable (not handwritten).
No late submissions will be accepted.

Reclamation will pay reasonable costs for shipping prototypes to the testing facility.

Payment
For any prize award, the winner will receive the full amount awarded; any Freelancer seller fee will be
refunded to the winner.

Intellectual Property
Winning solutions, for both the White Paper and Prototype Challenges, must grant the United States
Government a license for the solution. The license will be royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable,
worldwide, and non-exclusive. The license will provide the Government the right to use, reproduce,
distribute, adapt, perform, display, make, have made, market, modify, lease, sell, and create for any
manner and any purpose of any intellectual property prepared, produced, originated, developed,
generated, used, or acquired including without limitation.

Ownership of all intellectual property rights, if any, in the idea or concept demonstrated by the proposed
solution will remain with the solver.

Reclamation reserves the right to negotiate licenses for additional submitted solutions.