Other Infrastructure Systems projects
Infrastructure Systems:
Edwards Lifesciences
Edwards Life Sciences, a notable bio-medical manufacturer needed a large scale transformer relocation to be done in coordination with Southern California Edison (SCE), and brought ARC’s expertise and experience to bear on a truly unique engineering endeavor.
If a site’s power demands and existing infrastructure are such that power costs are reaching an unusually high level, or an electrical infrastructure exists that is old and out-of-date, it sometimes makes sense to part ways, to some degree, with the power company and own your own distribution. This is exactly what was happening at Edwards – expansion needs were putting buildings on top of existing SCE infrastructure.
So it was decided to create a master meter medium voltage service. The project required a multi-phase approach: Coordinate with the utility to re-locate lines outside of the footprint of new buildings and reconfigure the distribution of power – converting all into an ELS-owned distribution system.
As ARC “opened the box” on all existing services for 12 buildings, it was discovered that there were practices no longer sanctioned by SCE and even by the latest electrical codes. Much site survey work was required, and ARC wanted to maximize what was already there to preserve budget while keeping downtime to a minimum since ELS work
was ongoing as work progressed.
As a result of the re-design, Edwards was able to achieve high levels of efficiency from the outcome, as well as have all their structural needs supported by a first-class power distribution system.