Guidance Notes

General Civil Construction Requirements for New Distribution and HV Consumer Substations

Version: Author: Approver:

3 Keith Nutter Patrick Booth

Date of Issue: Job Title: Job Title:

December 2006 Building & Civils Specialist Asset Manager

Guidance Notes for General Civil Construction Requirements For New Distribution and HV Consumer Substations (Civil Manual)

Revision Log
Version: 3.0 Prepared by: Keith Nutter Date: December 2006 Date: April 2006 Date: May 2005 Re-branded to E.ON Central Networks. Version: 2.0 Prepared by: Keith Nutter Complete re-write. Version: 1.0 New document issued. Prepared by: Keith Nutter

Version: 3

Date of Issue: December 2006 The master version of the this document resides in the E.ON UK Documentum database CAUTION any other copy may be out of date Central Networks plc

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Guidance Notes for General Civil Construction Requirements For New Distribution and HV Consumer Substations (Civil Manual)

The Network Design Manual states that the preferred solution for installing a new distribution substation is to use a standard unit substation design with a GRP housing. The details of the foundations are shown on drawing STND/001/035 and further detail contained in the associated guidance document Unit Substation in GRP Housing. Where developers wish to use a brick housing instead of the GRP then drawing STND/001/036 shows the foundation detail and associated guidance document Unit Substation in Brick Housing gives further detail. Drawing STND/001/037 shows a typical arrangement for the brick housing. For HV Consumer substations at 11kV there are two alternative solutions. The standard arrangement with a GRP housing is shown on drawing STND/001/038 and in HV Consumer Substation in GRP Housing. Again if the developer wishes to use an alternative brick housing, then drawing STND/001/039 and HV Consumer Substation in Brick Housing show this arrangement. All the above arrangements assume the substation is located at ground level and that 24 hour access is available directly from public areas using the standard Central Networks access key. There is now only one supplier of standard GRP housings for unit substations. These are supplied by Envico Engineering and are a stock item at Huthwaite. No purchase requisition is now required for GRP housings, only a Reservation Order. The housings are 2.4m deep by 2.7m wide. The new foundation has been designed for the Envico housing, and also so it will also accept the old East housing which was 2.5m by 2.5m and supplied by Coes of Derby. No further purchases will be made of this size housing. All housings will now be delivered ready assembled for installation onto the foundation. The housings are stocked in two colours: Commodity code Commodity code 5082720 5082740 Brown as previously used in the West area Light Green -as previously used in the East area

We have still kept the two colours for the housings as the local planning authorities are accustomed to us using these colours in each area. If a developer wishes to use a different colour housing then these can be obtained from Envico as a special order. The developer should bear the total cost of the housing in this case.

Version: 3

Date of Issue: December 2006 The master version of the this document resides in the E.ON UK Documentum database CAUTION any other copy may be out of date Central Networks plc

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Guidance Notes for General Civil Construction Requirements For New Distribution and HV Consumer Substations (Civil Manual)

Occasionally developers require alternative locations for either Distribution or HV Consumer substations due to constraints of the development. Generally these will be city centre developments with no separate space available at ground level for locating the substation. Proposed solutions may include: Substation at ground level built into the development with access from public areas. Substation built into the development with access through private areas. Substation built into basement areas, such as car parks, with access from private areas. For all of these alternatives it is important that consideration is given to the issues outlined below before agreement is given for construction to proceed. Proposals should be submitted by the Developer, or his agents, to Central Networks Asset Management for comments. An indication of the acceptability of the proposals will be given to the Developer. No formal approval will be issued as several of the items to be considered are also subject to statutory regulation, such as Building Control and Fire Precautions Regulations. The following issues should be considered:
1.

Operational access

2.

Maintenance access

3.

Ventilation

Preference is for direct access from public areas using standard Central Networks access key. This arrangement minimises response times in the event of faults on the network. If the substation is located within the building but not on the public boundary, then ideally Central Networks access should be through a dedicated door, again fitted with the standard access lock. Double locking arrangements are also acceptable in this situation. Access via areas controlled by the building occupiers or security personnel is not acceptable as inevitably this delays access and affects fault response times. Adequate means of escape in an emergency must also be provided. The substation location must take account of the requirement for vehicle access to install and maintain electrical equipment. The normal method of installation uses a lorry mounted hiab and allowance must be made for this in choosing the substation location. Locations which would require manual handling of electrical equipment are not acceptable for health and safety reasons. Doors to substations must be sufficiently large to allow installation of equipment, see relevant drawings and guidance notes. Electrical equipment requires some ventilation to operate effectively. Specific guidance is given in the relevant documents and drawings. Natural ventilation is preferred, although in some locations forced extraction will be required. In these cases ventilation systems must be designed with a degree of redundancy such that one fan failure does not render the system inoperable. As a guide a 1000kVA transformer will generate approximately 10kW of heat at full load.
Date of Issue: December 2006 Page 4 of 5

Version: 3

The master version of the this document resides in the E.ON UK Documentum database CAUTION any other copy may be out of date Central Networks plc

Guidance Notes for General Civil Construction Requirements For New Distribution and HV Consumer Substations (Civil Manual)

4.

Noise and Vibration

5.

Fire Protection

6.

Bunding of Transformer

7.

Explosion Relief

8.

Loss of SF6 Gas

9.

Earthing - Hot Sites

The design and construction of the substation must be such that noise and vibration are not transmitted into sensitive areas, particularly residential areas. If these items are not dealt with at the design and construction stage, then on commissioning of the substation, complaints may be received. The Environmental Health Departments will require the owners of the offending equipment to deal with the problems. It is therefore essential that the Developer addresses these issues and provides evidence that suitable measures have been taken to minimise the potential problems. Generally specialist input will be needed from appropriate Consultants. Central Networks have no requirement for any fire protection measures to be provided to protect our equipment. However most internal installations will require measures to be taken to protect the building should our equipment catch fire. These will include sufficient fire resistance of the structure and suitable fire protection measures. The exact fire protection requirements will be dependant on the building design and its use. Normally a minimum of a fire alarm system will be required, but in some instances a full automatic fire protection system may be needed. For plant owned by Central Networks there is a requirement to provide a bund around any oil containing equipment. This will normally be the transformer(s). Bunds should be designed to contain 115% of the volume of oil within the transformer. Bunded areas must be effectively sealed and particular attention must be given to sealing of any cables passing through the bund. Where possible this should be avoided. The standard substation designs incorporate explosion relief features in the event of any equipment failure. Similar measures must be incorporated into any bespoke designs. The explosion relief will usually be catered for by the inclusion of a specific weak point into the structure, such as a louvre vent. Present designs of equipment include the use of SF6 gas as the insulating medium. The design of the building must take into account the possibility of the loss of SF6 gas from the switchgear. Some sites may be classified as hot with regard to earthing depending on the location of the site and the local network. Developers must check this item with Central Networks at an early stage as it may affect the actual location of the substation. Additional earthing work may also be required to ensure adequate segregation of HV and LV earths.

Version: 3

Date of Issue: December 2006 The master version of the this document resides in the E.ON UK Documentum database CAUTION any other copy may be out of date Central Networks plc

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