Maintenance crews from Southwestern recently assisted personnel from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Worth District to repair equipment at the Sam Rayburn hydroelectric project near Jasper in southeast Texas.
Southwestern Power Administration
April 2, 2024
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Maintenance crews from Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern or SWPA) recently assisted personnel from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Worth District (Corps) to repair equipment at the Sam Rayburn hydroelectric project near Jasper in southeast Texas.
The project consisted of major repairs to the main Generator Step Up – or GSU – Transformer #1 and was made possible by a partnership formed under the Economy Act Memorandum of Agreement (EA MOA), which was signed in 2021.
Tom Webb, Superintendent of Sam Rayburn, reported a failure in equipment in November 2023 and began the EA MOA documentation process. After completion of coordination of the scope of work and funding between the Corps and Southwestern, the Gore Maintenance Crew began repairs in February 2024.
Gore Maintenance Crew members Ray House, Kevin Lay, Cameron Carter, and Andrew Kropp, all High Voltage Electricians, worked with Corps personnel to replace failed mounts on a 1500 lb. electronics cabinet that had completely fallen off GSU Transformer #1. Southwestern crew members also repaired broken conduits and exposed wires and electronics.
During the course of their work on GSU Transformer #1, the crew took the opportunity to preemptively replace cabinet bushings and fasteners on GSU Transformer #2. The work was completed in only three days and the transformer was tested and placed back in service a day earlier than planned.
House says his team and the Corps learned together as they performed the repairs.
“We worked seamlessly with the Corps personnel. It wasn’t even like working, we got along so well. The teams completed an incredible amount of work in a short amount of time,” House says. “And I have to say, I work with an incredible crew that never ceases to amaze me.”
Superintendent Webb agrees that the interaction between the SWPA and Corps crews helped the work to go smoothly. "My team worked very well with the SWPA team," Webb says, "and they all learned from their experiences working together. The entire job was complete in only three days. Excellent work!"
Webb also notes that the Southwestern team which completed this recent work at Sam Rayburn was the same one which made repairs to switchyard circuit breaker 42 in 2023 after the B phase pole failed on the breaker. That project, like the transformer repair project, was also undertaken under the EA MOA. Of both projects, he reiterates, "These guys are a joy to work with."
About the EA MOA
Southwestern and the six Corps Districts within Southwestern’s marketing area worked together to craft the EA MOA, which replaced several prior agreements between Southwestern and individual Corps Districts. The EA MOA allows Southwestern and the Fort Worth, Kansas City, St. Louis, Little Rock, Tulsa, and Vicksburg Districts of the Corps to provide work, goods, and services to each other under the authority of the Economy Act.
In addition to the work recently completed at Sam Rayburn, there are various other projects currently in progress under the EA MOA, including work to improve Dissolved Oxygen levels on the White River; real estate work related to government easements; and equipment repair projects at Bull Shoals, Dardanelle, Greers Ferry, and Norfork.
Nathan Tackett, Southwestern’s EA MOA Coordinator, says that work has been brisk since the EA MOA was put in place. “We have had great success and cooperation between all the people involved, from the work requestors, from the finance and accounting staff who monitor expenditures and progress, and especially from the crews who perform the work. I think you could say it’s been a win-win situation for both Southwestern and the Corps.”