METRO REGIONAL CENTER (MRC)

Metro Regional Center (MRC) Power Study Phase I

Overview

A new riser diagram of the MRC facility was created, and an arc flash, short circuit and coordination study was completed.  The study included a report of code violations, equipment concerns (e.g. damaged or aged equipment), safety concerns and electrical system deficiencies.  CE Engineers is currently in Phase II of the project, which consists of creating construction drawings to include corrections to the electrical system, the creation of an electrical system maintenance plan, and a feasibility study for adding a new generator.

Challenges/Solution

The protective device coordination study of the facility revealed the circuit branch feeding the air handler units was not properly coordinated and could cause one of the breakers at the switchgear to trip instead of the closest upstream device feeding the air handler unit.  Metro had an incident in which a major fault occurred at one of the air handler units and due to the poor system coordination power was shut-off at two other handler units, one elevator and several lighting circuits. This incident prompted phase II of the project.

Results

The findings of the power study resulted in several recommendations that will bring their system to code and make it safer for electrical personnel to service the equipment.

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