Energy news from Omaha Public Power District
Energy news from Omaha Public Power District
Transformer inspections underway
OPPD is inspecting transformers around its service territory to replace those at the end of their operational life and address those that are in need of repairs.
For customers, this may mean inspectors will be in your backyard if you have a transformer on your property. Inspectors are typically looking for damaged or faulty transformers and evaluating whether they are leaking mineral oil. Inspectors are also analyzing the oil content in the transformers.
About transformer inspections
The oil insulates the inner workings of a transformer. Since January 2020, OPPD has replaced 282 transformers or scheduled them for replacement thanks to this project, said Deena Silke, Regulatory Affairs specialist at OPPD. So far, 7,600 transformers have been inspected.
The JACO company is doing the inspections. JACO specializes in inspecting transformers that are “hot,” so that the customer doesn’t lose power during the inspection.
Silke said there are 91,000 transformers in OPPD’s service territory. The utility will inspect about 21,000 as part of this project. Customers may notice a door hanger from JACO letting them know their transformer was inspected, Silke said.
The utility will prioritize oil spills according to the findings. Contractors contact the homeowner to schedule a time to come and clean up the spill, she said.
“The program will reduce environmental impact and help with power reliability for OPPD customers,” Silke said.
The utility expects to complete the inspections sometime in 2022.
Jason Kuiper joined OPPD as a communications specialist in 2015. He is a former staff writer and reporter at the Omaha World-Herald, where he covered a wide range of topics but spent the majority of his career covering crime. He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and has also appeared in several true crime documentary shows. In his free time he enjoys cooking, spending time with his wife and three children, and reading crime novels.
View all posts by Jason Kuiper >
