Wildfire Assessment and Resilience for Networks (WARN) - BEC

Butte Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BEC)

Butte Electric Cooperative

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office, Award Number DE-GD0000885.

Kickoff Meeting

Time/Date: 2 PM, December 18, 2024
Location: Our Spearfish Office, 3450 Old Belle Rd., Spearfish, SD 57783

Meeting Agenda	Description
Welcome/Introduction	Information sharing
Purpose of Meeting	Briefly described the meeting objectives
Overview of the Proposed Project	WARN Project overview. Co-op-specific project overview
Impact on the System Resilience	Described the improvements in the system and the impact of the outage
Year 1 tasks outline and time frame	Describe Year 1 tasks including project plans for Years 2 and 3

Consortium Member Information

BEC provides safe, reliable, and affordable energy and services that improve the quality of life for our members and their communities. Founded in 1940, BEC serves more than 5,700 members in Western South Dakota, in Butte, Lawrence, and Meade Counties. BEC’s peak demand is 31.5 MW, with 1,413 miles of energized power lines, and 24 employees.

BEC is a member of a consortium of 38 electric co-ops and other rural utilities selected to receive federal funding through the Wildfire Assessment and Resilience for Networks project, or “WARN.”

Butte Electric Cooperative is a member of a consortium of 37 electric co-ops and other rural utilities selected to receive federal funding through the Wildfire Assessment and Resilience for Networks project or WARN. WARN projects will modernize and strengthen our nation’s electric grid, protecting customers’ access to electricity during wildfires and mitigating the risk of wildfires due to our nation’s aging transmission and distribution infrastructure.

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office, Award Number DE-GD0000885.

Project Description

BEC has proposed to replace overhead powerlines with underground lines. This project will eliminate wildfire risks inherent for overhead power line conductor and overhead recloser operations. The estimated project cost including ditching, labor, and materials is around $4.4 million dollars.

Benefits

Undergrounding powerlines makes the electric system safer, stronger, more reliable, and more affordable. This project will prevent wildfires caused by powerlines or equipment. It also significantly hardens the system to protect it from wildfire caused by natural or human factors in this area.

Communities and Consumers Impacted

Worksites are located in rural areas of Butte, Lawrence, and Meade Counties of South Dakota (as shown on the maps below). The project would underground 22 miles of line to reduce the risk of wildfire.

Per the 2020 United States Census, the approximate work area population is 1,661. The area includes picturesque, forested areas in the northern portion of the Black Hills, portions of the beautiful tree-covered foothills of the Black Hills, and the open majestic prairie. These areas consist of rural roads and residences, farming and ranching operations, and recreational areas within BEC's service territory.

Timeline

The project will take approximately 2 to 3 years, with construction broken up into four stages to be completed in the months of April through November in consecutive years.

Design: 3-6 months
Permitting: Overhead easements will be replaced with underground easements.
Construction: April – November 2026-2027. Undergrounding a distribution line along the road will require some level of traffic control, and the operation of large excavation equipment along with maneuvering large reels of primary cable. Some disruption to traffic flow is inevitable.
Operation: Moving overhead electrical systems to underground includes converting overhead services to underground services requiring contractors that specialize in these types of projects and the utilities’ linemen and operations personnel to complete the projects.