Utility

138kV Substation Expansion

Substation Engineering

Scope of Work:

• Completed design to interconnect new 25MW battery & 100MW solar facility to existing substation
• Expanded existing 138kV ring bus and add one new 138kV breaker position
• Required temporary configuration of existing 138kV line to facilitate construction
• Engineered two new monopoles and one H-frame to reconnect transmission line to expanded station
• New control building with new fiber connection to support protection and controls, and telecommunications

Deliverables:

• Detail design and construction package
  • Drawings – demolition, protection and control, physical, civil, transmission line with load trees
  • Studies – ground grid, foundations, substation structures, transmission line structures
  • Review vendor drawings for equipment, engineered structures, and calculations
• Construction support
• Incorporate as-built drawings post-construction

Project Highlights:

• Orbital Engineering navigated precise construction sequencing including temporary configurations to enable site build out while limiting downtime. Design included the relocation of existing transmission line to successfully expand the substation for the new solar and battery facility interconnection.

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Inlet/Outlet Valve Evaluation

Natural Gas

Scope of Work

• Performed GIS and records-based analysis of 1,617 gas regulating stations
• Evaluated compliance with inlet/outlet critical valve design standards
• Validated valve data from GIS and Maximo using spatial analysis and attribution logic
• Assigned station risk ratings based on valve presence, type, and quantity
• Developed formal reclassification, design, and investigation workflows for 1,100+ non-compliant stations
• Recommended future valve placement or conversion to critical designation using industry standards

Deliverables

• Executive summary and class 5 capital planning estimate
• G.A.C.-coded dataset with risk priority assignments 
• Planning template outlining time estimates by station priority level
• Engineering design trigger list for non-compliant or undocumented stations
• Reclassification workflow diagram and phase 3 execution guidance
• GIS shapefiles for pipelines, stations, valves, and analysis overlays
• Maximo/GIS data cleanup recommendations and asset tracking integration

Project Highlights

• The team analyzed 1,617 stations across the service territory, finding that approximately 32% were compliant, 44% required formal design, and 24% were convertible through reclassification. They introduced a desktop validation and G.A.C. priority framework to streamline program actions, supported program execution with valve planning templates and phase 3 task sequencing, and applied the client’s gas standard for valve design criteria to maintain emergency access compliance.

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138kV Generation Line Interconnection

Transmission Line Engineering

Overview

• Location: Indiana
• Client: Midwest investor-owned utility
• Timeline: 12 months

Scope

• Designed 138kV generation tie line to connect into existing substation in PLS-CADD.
• Designed a temporary configuration for the 138kV feeder line to maintain power while substation expansion occurred.
• The final configuration comprised of three engineered monopoles and one engineered H-Frame on foundations.
• Plan and Profile Drawings, Framing Drawings, Load Tree Drawings, Foundation Design Drawings, Stringing Charts, Staking Tables, Worklists, and Material Lists

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Odorant Replacement Project

Natural Gas

Scope of Work

• Replaced aged odorant injection system, storage tank, containment, and building at gate station
• Decommissioned and remove existing and abandoned odorant systems and associated infrastructure
• Developed and install new odorant system including shelter, piping, controls, foundations, and electrical
• Coordinated full engineering lifecycle: design, demolition, procurement support, construction oversight, and commissioning
• Executed project within defined shut-in window to maintain system reliability and operational continuity

Deliverables

• Redlined piping and instrumentation diagrams, 3D model, isometric piping drawings, construction bill of material, and valve tie-in lists
• Civil, mechanical, structural, and electrical drawings
• Demolition drawing packages with mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation and controls scopes
• Procurement packages for tank, building, odorant system, and temporary odorization
• On-site construction support, contractor coordination, and commissioning oversight
• Final documentation including updated drawings, redlines, and closeout package

Project Highlights

• The project executed a full odorant system replacement within a limited five-month shut-in window, managing the demolition of two systems in parallel with the new installation to maintain site layout. The team proactively coordinated a temporary odorization option in case of commissioning delays, provided continuous oversight from initial design through construction and as-built documentation, and supported the development of long-term record drawings and standardized site files for future reuse.

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12kV Switchgear Replacement

Substation Engineering

Scope of Work

• Completed design to replace end-of-life 12kV switchgear
• Expanded existing yard to accommodate new switchgear and mobile substation installation
• Sited grading and stormwater controls
• Upgraded transformer protection 
• 12kV underground circuit getaways

Deliverables

• Detail design and construction package
  • Drawings – demolition, protection and control, physical, civil
  • Studies – ground grid, foundations, substation structures
  • Review switchgear vendor drawings
• Stormwater pollution prevention plan
• Construction support
• Incorporate as-built drawings post-construction

Project Highlights

• While engineering the site modifications, Orbital engineering successfully corrected existing drainage issues at the site while providing the necessary footprint for the switchgear replacement.

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69kV Transmission Line Extension

Transmission Line Engineering

Scope of Work

• Completed design to extend a 69kV line 15-miles to a new substation
• Designed 400 new steel direct embed poles supporting 477 ACSR and OPGW static
• Executed two new steel engineered poles on foundations for railroad crossing
• Existing distribution assets were designed to be transferred onto the new steel poles
• Completed four one-way switching structures at tie-in junctions

Deliverables

• Preliminary design, detailed design and construction package
• Drawings – plan and profile, framing drawings, bill of materials, drilling details, engineered pole loading tree drawings, foundation drawings, easement drawings, tree clearing drawings
• Studies – PLS-CADD model, monopole structure analysis, stringing, shielding protection
• Review vendor drawings for engineered poles, equipment, and drilling locations
• Construction and permitting support
• Incorporate as-built drawings post-construction

GIS Support

• Subsurface utility engineering level D utility locates were enhanced by digitizing both above-ground and below-ground infrastructure
• Developed a GIS web application that visualizes the entire 15-mile corridor
• The app integrated 2D mapping and 3D LiDAR survey data to improve cross-team collaboration, increase data transparency, and support more informed decision-making throughout the project lifecycle

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Overdue Pole Audit

Electric Distribution Engineering

Scope of Work

• 1549 poles were identified failing inspection but had no record of being replaced between 2015-2020
• Field audit identified poles and document findings
• Created design packets for poles that have not been replaced

Deliverables

• Report of findings from audit including, photos and checklist noting branding, inspection tags, double wood, reinforcements, and additional items
• Produce a detailed design and construction package (cost estimate, design sheets, design maps, bill of materials, circuit diagram, and material reservation)

Project Highlights

• Orbital spatially enabled a prioritized list of utility poles to assess potential replacements. A custom inspection schema was deployed in a field data collection app. All collected information was synced to a centralized GIS dashboard and database, enabling automated generation of photo reports for poles flagged for replacement, streamlining the creation of bid packages for construction teams.

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Buried Regulator Program Evaluation

Natural Gas

Scope of Work

• Evaluated 3,300 buried gas regulators across a regional network
• Developed cost-efficient remediation strategies based on risk and infrastructure proximity
• Assessed replacement options, including mainline extensions and above-grade designs
• Benchmarked project costs using historical construction data
• Built geospatial tools to identify regional clusters and prioritize replacements
• Created installation guidelines using a data-driven breakeven distance threshold

Deliverables

• Engineering assessment report including:
  • Cost comparisons for above-grade vs. below-grade remediation methods
  • Risk evaluation and compliance considerations
  • Capital project analysis of 27 replacement efforts
• GIS-based proximity analysis and cluster modeling to guide future planning
• Prioritization tool using spreadsheet, dashboard, and geospatial integration
• Replacement decision-making framework incorporating breakeven cost thresholds
• Tracking enhancements to align asset records across engineering and mapping systems

Project Highlights

• The project produced a utility-wide remediation model for buried gas regulators, defining per-regulator cost drivers and a breakeven point for choosing between regulator replacement and main extensions. Orbital analyzed multiple design alternatives to standardize future installations and enable strategic, program-wide planning through GIS, engineering analytics, and stakeholder input.

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Double Wood Mitigation Program

Double Wood Program Managment

Overview

• Location: Nationally
• Client: Multiple 
• Timeline: Annual Program

Scope

• Manage all facets of the client’s double wood program for their electric service territory in support of infrastructure improvement and joint-use projects.
• Scouting
  • Orbital team documents all double wood locations in a specified geography by identifying unknown/undocumented locations and field verifying known locations.
• Field Data Collection
  • Orbital team collects all relevant data for pole including location coordinates, pole number, configuration, attachment types and owners, constructability notes, pre-construction photos, etc.
  • Orbital conducts on-site evaluation of the need for power make-ready using handheld laser range finders to verify that making transfers will not result in NESC Violation.
• Double Wood Mitigation
  
  • Orbital team communicates transfer requests to third party attachment owners through utility’s preferred notification system (NJUNS, SPANS, etc.) and enforces contracts up to and including support of billing third party attachment owners for late transfers.
  • Orbital utilizes qualified subcontracted partner to mitigate double wood locations by transferring any remaining attachments, removing the double pole, and completing restoration (backfill, seed, concrete, etc.)
• Orbital utilizes its proprietary GIS web-based Double Wood Dashboard to manage data related to client’s double wood program.
  • Utility stakeholders are provided access to the dashboard which enables near real-time monitoring of workflow progression for individual poles with photos provided at each construction step.
  • All double wood locations are color coded in map view based on current workflow step to support prioritization/resource planning efforts. 
  • Filters, charts, and tables are available in the tool to allow for various levels of progress reporting.

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