I SUBSTATION TRANSFORMER OIL SAMPLING INFORMATION Tharnl k you for taking the time out of your busy day to review the services we provide. I very much appreciate your interest in the transformer oil sampling. I will provide a brief description of the process I perform in the field collecting of the sample and the role of the lab providing the customers with the data. Being substation and OSHA certified, if it is the desire of the utility, I can go to the substations by myself to collect the sample, thus saving the cost of the utility sending two men and a truck at approximately $150 an hour or more, with labor, equipment, and benefits. It also allows the utility crew to provide a needed task elsewhere while the transformer sampling is being completed. I provide this solo service to many utilities across the United States. The utilities utilizing this service issue me a list of locations or map, and a key or electronic name badge to access the substations. I have GPS technology to assist with location of the stations. When entering a substation a safety inspection of the station is performed as part of the service. If any equipment or apparatus is in danger of failure or a safety risk I notify the supervisor immediately. I have equipment with internet capability to remotely email, text, send photos, or call from the substation location to discuss the issue with the supervisor or engineering staff. Grounds are also inspected before any contact is made and valves are opened for oil discharge and collection. Temperatures are recorded on the nameplate data sheet and the nitrogen level is checked for positive pressure. Fluid levels are always evaluated and a test number is assigned to the unit corresponding with the serial number. If needed, nitrogen is installed to bring the unit to positive pressure. Oil is flushed from the unit to remove moisture contaminated oil near the valve before the sample collection begins. The bottle sample we take, approximately one pint is used for many diagnostic tests and the air tight syringe, approximately 40 eels, we use to capture all of the dissolved gases present inside the unit to provide you with the very best data after the field sample is carefully collected and sent to the ATIIab in Burnsville, Minnesota. At the lab a very seasoned and expert staff with 35 plus years of experience will analyze the sample and provide you with a certified report, very easy to read and user friendly. The ATI Lab is one of the highest regarded labs in the country, very well respected in the industry, and is known for its excellence in accuracy, service, data, and very competitive pricing. As we discussed it is a very cost effective and efficient way of seeing what is going on inside the transformer with regard to insulation breakdown or oil degradation which could lead to an untimely failure. Most importantly the level of dissolved gases in the unit could be of real safety concern with staff restoring service to the unit or changing taps by stepping a regulator up or down for voltage regulation changes or monthly inspections. As you know Federated Insurance recommends annual substation transformer oil sampling data and monthly substation inspections. I had a real life situation back in early 2000 when lightning struck one of our 34.5 KV / 14.4 KV (5 MVA) transformers and the first request from Federated was documentation of the last 3 years of dissolved gas and oil quality testing along with the monthly substation inspection documents. Just another good reason to have the data available in the event of a failure, that the utility is justly compensated by its insurance carrier, as some of the bigger units that can run up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and then into the millions with the large ower plant units. The EPA rule of 1979 dictated all transformers, poles, pads, and sub tation units have to be tested for PCB