Utility Interconnection

When you need power to a new facility, a data center, or a plant expansion with grid power, the interconnection is the critical path. Utility queues are long, study cycles are slow, and the equipment that matters most carries the longest lead times. Most owners handle this by hiring one firm for the interconnection studies, another for the substation, and a third for the facility, then spend the next year reconciling three sets of assumptions.

CANUSA EPC engagements offer to deliver all the scopes under one contract. Our electrical group sits in the same project team as process, mechanical, civil, and controls, so the utility side and the facility side get built on one set of assumptions, one schedule, and one point of accountability. Gain confidence that your power will be there when your facility is ready to run.

Challenges We Overcome

An interconnection request is more than an application form. Utilities and system operators want credible load data, system models, single line diagrams, equipment specifications, operating assumptions, and a defensible point of interconnection before they will commit capacity. Resubmissions cost months, and months lost in a utility queue are rarely recoverable. We assemble those inputs with your team, the utility, and the equipment suppliers so the submission holds up the first time.

• Interconnection applications rejected or delayed for incomplete or inconsistent load data
• Utility study results that arrive after equipment has already been specified
• Transformer and switchgear lead times that outrun the construction schedule
• Point-of-interconnection assumptions that change after the site layout is fixed
• Facility load growth or phased expansion that was never built into the original request
• Onsite generation, bridge power, and utility supply designed by separate parties
• Bidirectional power flow and export limits that complicate protection schemes
• Protection, relay, and SCADA requirements discovered late in utility review
• Cost estimates built before the interconnection scope is actually understood
• Permitting, land, and right-of-way constraints that surface after design is underway
• Commissioning and energization sequences that do not line up with plant startup

Scope of Work

Capital Development

• Define what you need from the utility, from onsite generation, or from a hybrid of both
• Test the point of interconnection, voltage, capacity, and system constraints
• Class V capital cost estimate and project feasibility screening
• Flag long-lead equipment, utility milestones, and permitting requirements while there is still time to react
• Utility and system-operator interconnection request preparation and submission
• Load questionnaires, equipment data, and utility technical responses

Front-End Engineering Design

• PSS®E modelling, load flow, short-circuit, stability, harmonic, and protection studies
• Point-of-interconnection assessment and single line diagram development
• High-voltage and medium-voltage substation design
• Transmission and distribution line design
• Protection and control, relay, SCADA, and telecommunications engineering
• Transformer, switchgear, breaker, metering, grounding, and cable system specifications
• Electrical balance-of-plant and facility power distribution design
• Interconnection studies aligned with your facility loads, generation, controls, and expansion plans

Facility Construction and Energization

• Procurement, expediting, and long-lead equipment management
• Issued-for-construction drawings and construction work packages
• Civil, structural, and foundation design for substations and switchyards
• Construction management, field engineering, and quality control
• Relay testing, protection settings, and utility witness coordination
• Commissioning, energization, and startup support

Why Operators Choose CANUSA EPC

Interconnection work does not sit off to the side here. The same team answering the utility’s questions is designing the substation, sizing the onsite generation, laying out the civil works, and building the construction plan. CANUSA EPC offers a cohesive plan and team to support your power interconnection project. Our experience includes PSS®E reports, high-to-medium-voltage single line diagrams, equipment specifications, utility load questionnaires, and interconnection support for large loads, behind-the-meter generation, and bidirectional power flow.