The current Blue Line (BL) Traction Power Substations eight (8) were put in service 16 years ago on November 4th, 2007. The manufacturer of the Traction Power Substations has closed their facility and no longer manufactures Traction Power Substations or the electrical components assembled in-house. MOW has exhausted the in-house spare parts to maintain the system, which is obsolete. An agreement with Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and MOW was arranged for the parts used in their current system to be shipped identical to CATS BL substations (as a stop-gap), which are still in serviceable condition. The first set of the parts was delivered to CATS in April 2023 and will continue until UTA has completed the mid-life overhaul of their Traction Power Substations.

The substations and BL equipment are overdue for the mid-life refresh requirement. The MOW department is focused on upgrading and refreshing the DC Switchgear of the BL substations. The remainder of the equipment can be purchased and replaced as the AC Switchgear, Transformer, and Auxiliary equipment manufacturers are still available or swapped out with an equal piece of equipment or component without necessary modification to the substation.

PROJECT GOALS

MOW’s goal is to rehabilitate the BL Traction Power Substations to extend their useful life and provide increased system integrity and revenue service reliability with upgraded switchgear. Another goal of this project is to upgrade and modernize the substations’ communication capabilities and integrate SCADA points from the substations to the CATS head-end SCADA system, which will mirror the Blue Line Extension Substations so that the two systems operate the same. Secheron Hasler Group is the original equipment manufacturer of the selected DC Switchgear and will be providing the parts. A sole source solicitation waiver will be required.

PSR 1697