Our Industrial Power Systems team specializes in getting your site connected to the electrical grid. From low voltage distribution to transmission interconnections, we ensure your connection project gets the technical expertise it needs.

Beyond utility coordination, we engineer for safe, reliable, and compliant inside-the-fence infrastructure from grounding design and protection systems to complex load requirements.

The key to ensuring a successful interconnection project is to ensure milestone approvals are obtained along the way. A quick turnaround on conceptual design approval from the local utility is critical. Once approved, moving forward on detailed design elements such as component and protection architectures allows for the project requirements to take shape. Long lead/major materials specifications form part of the detailed design phase and are released as soon as possible. Once material shop drawings are received, quick turnaround of the documentation is key to avoid delays in the manufacturing process. Finally, all approved shop drawings and final designs are collated into one coherent package for construction bids. Primary supports our customers through ensuring on-site time with construction contractors and commissioning agents ensuring every energization goes off smoothly.

Our services include:

Industrial power systems

• Medium and low voltage distribution design
• Electrical diagram generation (single line, three line, cabinet schematics, etc.)
• Site plan layout to meet client needs and constraints
• Structure design and layout
• Construction and/or Construction Management
• Equipment specification including medium and low voltage switchgear, transformers, etc.
• Overhead system detail including detailed PLS-CADD modeling
• Power System Studies including load-flow, short circuit, protection coordination Arc flash and grounding analysis.

Soil Testing and Grounding

• Soil resistivity testing using 4-point Wenner test
• Ground grid safety verification per CEC section 36 using multi-layer CDEGs or WINIGS analysis
• Standard and non-standard grid geometries and designs
• Determination of ground potential rise (GPR)
• Determination of step and touch potential safety limits and evaluation of actuals against limits
• Grounding verification using fall of potential test methods

Substations (privately owned)

• Single Line Diagram generation from customer requirements
• Station layout
• Structure design including development of:
  • Steel structure erection drawings
  • Bus section detail drawings
  • Structure grounding drawings
  • Structure conduit and cable routing drawings
• Specification of HV and MV equipment including:
  • Power Transformers
  • Circuit Breakers
  • Line switches
  • VTs, CVTs and CTs
  • Ancillary equipment
• Assistance in RFP evaluations including technical accuracy and costs
• Control building specification and layout
• Control rack and electrical panel layout and design
• Lightning Protection Studies
• Grounding Analysis Studies
• Transient Performance studies such as Transient Recovery Voltage and Insulation Coordination studies
• Protection architecture definition, studies and settings specification
• Development of protection relay settings files as well as SCADA programming for real-time data acquisition and/or process control
• Pre-Construction validation of protection settings through use of Primary’s Protection and Communications Lab
• Ancillary electrical system designs such as station service and fire/alarm panels
• Communications equipment
• DC Systems and Battery backup systems
• SCADA integration
• Communications equipment specification