Principles of Substation Design and Construction
See upcoming datesCourse Overview
Whether you're working on a substation design project yourself or with a project manager, this course will give you the tools and skills to successfully complete a design from start to finish.
Who Should Attend?
- Substation design engineers and technicians
- Industrial, utility, or plant engineers
- Transmission line design engineers and technicians
- Project managers
- Construction supervisors
- Managers of design engineering departments
Course Outline
Substation Types and Purposes
- Fundamentals of power system operation
- Objectives of substation design
Overview of the Substation Design and Construction Process
- Establishing the need for substation facilities
- The project scope document: What it is and what it should contain
- Site selection and environmental issues
- Engineering design: Equipment specifications and drawings
- Construction
- Testing, start-up, and commissioning
Initial Steps in the Design Process: Setting the Bounds for the Overall Project
- Reviewing and understanding the project scope document
- Information to gather before the first site visit
- What to look for on the initial site visit
- Determining site adequacy for initial and future requirements
- Environmental, zoning, and public perception issues
- Construction and construction outage requirements: Access for construction and O&M equipment
- Ordering material/delivery date issues
Site Selection and Design
- General requirements
- Environmental and permitting issues
- Site preparation
- Drainage and erosion protection
- Surface materials
- Roads and access
Permitting and Environmental Issues
- Acquiring necessary permits
- Zoning and ordinance restrictions
- Long-term site impacts
- Impacts during construction: runoff/stream pollution
Foundation Design
- The site visit and what to look for
- Understanding soil test reports
Bus Designs for Reliability
- Bus configurations and 1-line diagrams
- Forced and planned outage performance
- Cost-reliability comparisons
Substation Layout: Converting 1-line Diagrams to Physical Layouts
- Substation components and required code clearances
- BIL, insulation coordination, and surge arresters
- Future expansion
- Access for O&M
- Design exercise
Grounding and Ground Grid Design
- Purpose of grounding
- Field-testing ground grid resistance and soil resistivity
- Materials and installation
Major Substation Equipment
- Circuit breakers
- High-voltage and low-voltage switches
- Design exercise
Secondary Substation Equipment
- Surge arresters
Auxiliary Equipment and Systems
- AC/DC station power and control system supplies
- Design exercise
Protective Relaying and Control
- System protection objectives and philosophies
- Protective relaying schemes for major substation equipment
- Typical relay types and applications
Expansion and Upgrade of Existing Substations
- Feasibility and limitations
Testimonials
"This is the fourth course I've taken from UW and I would recommend their courses to anyone. Always very helpful, especially the practical examples and real-world issues presented. Sheldon Silberman is very knowledgeable and personable! Kevin Borgmeyer is a great teacher; I hope some day I'll know as much as he does (or even half that much)!"
—Annette Jessen, Stations Structural Designer, Idaho Power Company, Boise, Idaho
"I can't imagine that any organization could prepare a better introductory substation design course. All of the instructors were excellent."
—Dennis C. Spencer, Substation Designer, Lee County Electric Coop, North Ft. Myers, Florida
"I especially enjoyed the in-class exercises that put the student in the design environment."
—George Guirguis, Substation Engineer, City of Lake Worth Utilities, Lake Worth, Florida
"The substation layout session and the associated in-class exercise were excellent."
—Rick Borkowicz, PE, Engineering Manager, RMF Engineering, Baltimore, Maryland
Instructors
Kevin Borgmeyer
Kevin Borgmeyer, PE, is Senior Manager of Electrical Engineering at Alliant Energy in Madison, Wisconsin. In this role Kevin manages the departments of Substation Engineering, System Protection Engineering, CAD Engineering Services, and Relay, SCADA, and Telecommunications Technical Support for Wisconsin Power and Light operating company. He has been with Alliant Energy/WPL for more than 30 years, during which he has worked in a variety of engineering management positions. Kevin also has extensive design experience as a substation and transmission engineer and senior system protection engineer. Borgmeyer received a BSEE degree with electric power emphasis from Iowa State University.
Sheldon Silberman
Sheldon I. Silberman, PE, Retired as Senior Manager of Engineering and Design Outsourcing Transmission Services after 46 years at Xcel Energy in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In this role, Silberman managed all consulting services for the engineering and design of Northern States Power (NSP) substation and transmission line projects. In his career with Xcel Energy/NSP he held various engineering and management positions related to substation design, construction and maintenance. Silberman received a BSEE degree in electric power systems from the University of Minnesota.
Upcoming dates (1)
Oct. 20-28, 2021
$1,695
Principles of Substation Design and Construction
Location: Online
Course #: RA00063-U316
Fee: $1,695
Fee
- $1,695
-
Fee covers online instruction and course materials.
Course materials will be shipped to each registrant. Please look for an email two weeks before course regarding the address you would like your course materials shipped to. The email will include a link to an online form.
Enrollments are allowed up to the first day of the course. However, the course materials may not arrive before the start of the course for enrollments within 5 business days of the course start date.
Credit(s)
- CEU: 2.3
- PDH: 23
Schedule
Online course dates: October 20-22, 2021 and October 25-28, 2021
Seven total days of course instruction.
Online instruction: 8:00 AM CT - 1:30 PM Central Time each day
Course Notes
Email confirmation will guide registered students through accessing the online Canvas course site. Registered students will create and login to Canvas course site with a NetID.
Instructor(s)
Kevin Borgmeyer, John Raksany, Sheldon SilbermanLocation
This is an online course.Cancellation Policy
If you cannot attend, please notify us no later than one week before your course begins, and we will refund your fee. Cancellations received after this date and no-shows are subject to a $150 administrative fee. You may enroll a substitute at any time before the course starts.
Principles of Substation Design and Construction
Course #: RA00063Principles of Substation Design and Construction
Date: Wed. March 17, 2021 – Thu. March 25, 2021ID: RA00063-U409
Fee:
- $1,595
-
Fee covers online instruction and course materials.
Course materials will be shipped to each registrant. Please look for an email two weeks before course regarding the address you would like your course materials shipped to. The email will include a link to an online form.
Enrollments are allowed up to the first day of the course. However, the course materials may not arrive before the start of the course for enrollments within 5 business days of the course start date.
- CEU: 2.3
- PDH: 23
Principles of Substation Design and Construction
Date: Wed. October 14, 2020 – Thu. October 22, 2020ID: RA00063-T869
Fee:
- $1,695
-
Fee covers online instruction and course materials.
Course materials will be shipped to each registrant. Please look for email regarding the address you would like your course materials shipped to. The email will include a link to an online form.
The first round of course materials will be shipped UPS Ground on Tuesday, October 6. If you register after this date, course materials will still be shipped and we will do our best to have them to you for the first day of class.
- CEU: 2.3
- PDH: 23
Principles of Substation Design and Construction
Date: Mon. January 27, 2020 – Wed. January 29, 2020ID: RA00063-T878
Fee:
- $1,595
-
Fee covers morning and afternoon breaks, scheduled lunches, and course materials
- CEU: 2.3
- PDH: 23
1805 Hotel Plaza Blvd
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Principles of Substation Design and Construction
Date: Mon. October 28, 2019 – Wed. October 30, 2019ID: RA00063-S970
Fee:
- $1,595
-
Fee covers morning and afternoon breaks, scheduled lunches, and course materials
- CEU: 2.3
- PDH: 23