Electric Transmission

Engineering new power delivery facilities takes insight and personnel experience to deliver success from the owner or developer perspective. ENTRUST Solutions Group specializes in providing engineering, design, project management and support services to help deliver safe and reliable solutions for transmission and substation projects for electrical and telecommunication clients. We excel at eliminating risks through identifying engineering error before they are issued for construction and potentially impact commissioning. We also excel at taking the guesswork out of scheduling and sequencing construction outages requiring complex work sequencing to ensure schedule tolerances are managed alongside any other public, environmental, or regulatory management considerations. The result is a far more predictable and secure owner’s engineer process from beginning to end. From feasibility studies and detailed design to project management and construction support, ENTRUST Solutions Group is a trusted provider of expert engineering services in the electric utility and telecommunication industry.

Consulting on project development can begin at many points along the path from conceptual screening to commissioning. Typically the process begins with establishing the framework for sound decision-making, especially on new initiatives and technologies or those proposed for competitive solicitation. ENTRUST Solutions Group guides project development for interconnection projects seeking to plan and assess project viability, constructability, engineering effectiveness, capital cost, potential alternatives, and expected timelines for commercial service and start-up schedules. To achieve these aims, our engineering experts conduct reviews of the guiding principles of the project design, regional policy considerations, environmental, permitting, and regulatory requirements, as well as the financial analysis in the form of a business case to determine each project’s market potential. All these factors combine to predict the project’s probability of reaching the expected outcome so you have the information necessary to decide ‘what, whether, when, and how’ to proceed forward. ENTRUST encompasses the expertise at a national level guiding the development of hundreds of power delivery projects while maintaining the perspective and understanding of the underlying regional level policies to perform the project development role in a localized and custom way to meet your specific goals.

ENTRUST Solutions Group offers a suite of comprehensive transmission system analysis and planning services that analyze, identify, explain, and solve complex technical issues for transmission owners. Our team of industry experts has decades of former utility transmission network modeling and analysis experience, including RTO level transmission analysis as well as NERC reliability standard required analysis. Our expansive team covers a range of services, from system-wide grid assessments to interconnection study support. We also assist our clients in navigating complex RTO policies affecting regional grid planning and competitive solicitation processes. Whether it is traditional steady-state analysis for capital planning and project development or investigating grid stability under an array of system conditions, the ENTRUST Solutions Group team has the expertise to perform robust and comprehensive system analysis on any portion of the transmission system.

Examining the viability of a power delivery development project requires due diligence on the type and compatibility of the infrastructure, equipment, paths, and interconnection strategies proposed for the project. ENTRUST Solutions Group engineers act in a consulting role for both technical and financial assessments. The breadth of this analysis extends to procurement, where industry connections and insights can save clients millions of dollars through intelligent sourcing. That level of insight extends across all areas of due diligence services, with ENTRUST acting as an independent inspector and advocate through all aspects of project assessment. Our high rate of client retention in all business sectors is a key indicator that our due diligence processes earn long-term relationships with our clients.

Routing, siting, and permitting power delivery projects has evolved into a data-driven process to position assets for optimal safety, maximal productivity, and interconnection value. Routing line assets and siting substations benefit from data gathered through tools such as GIS data analytics. These insights enable power delivery projects to define existing assets and identify prospective paths, calculate routing impacts, target interconnection points, and plan protection and power relays. ENTRUST Solutions Group brings this level of expertise to life from concept to completion, guiding developers or existing facility networks through the physical and financial processes of determining the best use of assets. ENTRUST also leads client partners through the regulatory and permitting processes required for traditional utilities, emerging technologies, owner engineers, and industrial or private customers.

The developing market in High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) and Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems (FACTS) requires technical expertise and planning capacity that frequently exceeds the knowledge and availability of in-house resources. ENTRUST Solutions Group delivers the technical and design resources needed to drive projects from concept to completion. Our experts lead the way in HVDC development, improvement of control and protection systems, integration of FACTS systems, and the essential groundwork of environmental assessments, permitting, commissioning, and ongoing management services.

Transmission facilities looking to upgrade operational performance and effectiveness are increasingly turning to insights provided by data analytics to improve productivity, efficiency, and safety. ENTRUST begins the process by identifying the real-time function of critical assets and how effectively they connect. These assessments include geospatial engineering measurements to identify, measure, and analyze all assets’ locations and real-time conditions. Once this picture develops, data is available from the functionality of specific machines to measure the performance of entire enterprise systems and the assets they manage. Data maturity provides the ability to troubleshoot in real time or generate predictive models useful in management decisions. These analytics provide the intelligence necessary to map and perform upgrades either in stages or comprehensively, including all-new systems. ENTRUST’s commitment to data democratization means your organization owns everything generated in these processes. Our role is to help you set up and leverage these capabilities to achieve superior results now and in the future.

By working with ENTRUST Solutions Group, the challenge of meeting regulatory standards and compliance in power delivery is complicated by factors such as aging equipment, employee turnover, and the pressures of conducting daily operations. Choosing ENTRUST Solutions Group as a compliance assurance and testing partner bridges the gap between available resources and pending deadlines for compliance. The insights of our direct experience subject matter experts help companies stay ahead of the NERC compliance curve while building a framework for the client to maintain a robust compliance culture. With decades of regulatory experience including NERC testing on which to draw upon, our team reviews your company’s internal controls, performs technical assessments, testing, power system studies, and produces the necessary reports and evidence as documentation. These provide the foundation for self-certification, spot checks, and regional regulatory audit preparation. Lean organizations benefit significantly from the planning insights and support provided by ENTRUST Solutions Group.

Increasing capacity and improving reliability are the prime drivers for new and upgraded lines for electric transmission systems. ENTRUST works with power utilities on the routing, permitting, design, engineering, and analysis of electric transmission lines.  We understand the myriad obstacles that must be navigated for these complex projects to succeed.  Our experienced staff has diverse backgrounds and many years of experience working on electric transmission projects up to 765kV.  We embrace our client’s needs through all aspects of a transmission line project, from initial routing and permitting to design, procurement, and construction.

High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) and Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) are opening new pathways to system planning where sources of renewable electricity are concerned. Variable sources of energy such as wind and solar farms produce periods of passive and active transmission. Processing this power for delivery requires entirely new management modes. With pending retirements of legacy power systems such as coal, the demand for versatility in connecting renewable power sources to the grid is growing by the day. Preparing for that future is what ENTRUST Solutions Group does for clients across a spectrum of needs. Our nationwide network of power generation and delivery experts and strategically located regional offices provides deep-level knowledge, remote functionality, and direct consultation and planning for every type of project.