Ross Twidwell, Beta’s VP of Civil Engineering, recently participated in an IEEE 605 standards meeting in Portland, Oregon. The IEEE 605 is a guide that covers bus design in air insulated substations. It provides information on the different bus arrangements used in substations, stating the advantages and disadvantages of each. This guide provides the calculation tools for each bus type, and based on these calculations, engineers can specify the bus size, forces acting on the bus structure, number of mounting structures required and hardware requirements.

Proper design of substation bus ensures safe and reliable operation of the substation and the power system. The IEEE 605 subcommittee meets twice a year to address issues ranging from current corrections to future changes that may need to be made in the design guide to reflect best practices. Beta is pleased to be part of this important industry initiative.