For decades, LS Power has been at the leading edge of the electric industry’s evolution, often introducing or commercializing new technologies and developing new markets. Today is no different. LS Power is at the forefront of the greening of the electric grid. Through LS Power’s national fleet of utility-scale solar, wind, hydro, natural gas-fired, and battery storage generation projects, our customer-facing distributed energy resources and energy efficiency platforms, and by building the transmission that connects it all, LS Power is not just talking about the decarbonization of the system – LS Power is making it happen.

LS Power Grid, an affiliate of LS Power, focuses on the development, construction, and operation of the company’s transmission portfolio. In every project, LS Power’s development philosophy centers on meeting the needs of customers by providing safe, reliable, competitive energy while protecting the environment and working together with local communities.

Learn more at www.lspower.com and www.lspowergrid.com.

Silver Run Electric’s dedicated team of operations, engineering, and maintenance staff work around-the-clock to ensure the reliable and secure operation of our transmission facilities using the latest advancements in equipment and energy management systems.

The facilities which operate Silver Run Electric are fully redundant, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) certified High Impact Rating control centers that meet all physical and cybersecurity requirements.  The current primary and backup control centers are located approximately 16 miles apart. This distance provides sufficient geographic diversity while being close enough to allow transmission system operators to relocate in less than 2 hours as required by NERC. The backup control center fully mirrors the primary control center and complete transfer of control can occur without losing any monitoring or control capabilities. In addition, each control center has redundancy in communications, power supply, HVAC and humidity control, and gas fire suppression systems.  The primary and backup control centers maintain emergency provisions including cots, blankets, water, and food. These provisions are stored inside each of the secure control rooms. This enables continuous, high-functioning operations during periods of prolonged emergency conditions.

The control center is fully operated in-house and is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Operating the control center is a team of internal personnel who are NERC and PJM certified and pursue ongoing education to maintain their certifications and use the latest advances in EMS and visualization to manage the system. The in-house control center staff has decades of experience in operations, control, and management of the bulk electric system with specific experience operating transmission systems in PJM, and ERCOT. In addition, the staff has access to a fully functioning control center simulator to train for unexpected emergencies and support drills to assess readiness.

Silver Run Electric was an integral part of the broader PJM Artificial Island project, which included various electric grid upgrades. Silver Run Electric was selected through a FERC Order No. 1000 competitive solicitation in the PJM region to develop, construct, and operate two elements of the Artificial Island Project – the new Silver Run Substation in New Castle County and a new 5.5 mile, 230kV transmission line connecting Silver Run to the existing Hope Creek Substation in Salem County. The new line runs overhead for about 2 miles in Delaware, a 3-mile submarine crossing of the Delaware River, and a half-mile in New Jersey, to ultimately connect on the eastern end at the Hope Creek substation in southern New Jersey.

The characteristics of Silver Run Electric’s competitive bid that resulted in its positive selection include:

• Expertise – Silver Run offered the lowest cost reliability solution with multiple construction technology and route options to deliver project flexibility while ensuring the best all-around result for consumers.
• Economy – Silver Run Electric established a first-of-its-kind project construction cost containment to protect electricity consumers from paying for cost overruns; a new, consumer-focused approach in the utility world.
• Environmental Record – Addressing Delaware’s Clean Energy goals, the Silver Run team also developed Dover Sun Park – one of the first utility-scale solar installations in the eastern United States. The team developed the natural gas-fired West Deptford Energy Station in New Jersey, using environmentally friendly, state-of-the-art technology. It’s one of the most efficient plants in the entire electrical system.

The RTO/ISO Selection Report for Silver Run Electric is available here.

Regulatory permitting was particularly important during the development of Silver Run Electric’s transmission facilities. The route alternatives and installation technologies considered by Silver Run Electric focused on reducing the impacts on wetlands and wildlife. Ultimately, Silver Run Electric applied for and received approval for federal, state, and local permits including from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Delaware River Basin Commission, the Delaware Public Service Commission, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and county and township planning boards in Delaware and New Jersey.