direct testimony of the capital expenditures, reliability, and - nyseg

Case 09-E-____; Case 09-G-____ (NYSEG)DIRECT TESTIMONY OF THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES,RELIABILITY, AND OPERATIONS PANEL12345678910111213141516171819202122longer term period and proposes projects that are forecast to be needed to alleviatesystem issues. Examples of the types of issues addressed by the system planninggroup are the proposed revisions to the Electric Reliability Standards, which wewill address in more detail later in our testimony, and the load pocket concernsunder review with Staff. The Company's field engineering function, which has afocus on specific division operations, prepares maintenance projects andcommunicates with customers to identify needs and problem areas, performs fieldinvestigations and proposes solutions to address concerns. Information gainedfrom regular inspections conducted by field maintenance staff and as specifiedwithin the Company's Standard Operating Procedures is also used to support thedevelopment of projects.Q. Can you explain how proposed projects are analyzed?A. All proposed projects require the development of alternatives as well as thepreparation of cost estimates. Projects with estimates that exceed $100,000 areevaluated via use of the Company's capital project analysis or CPA model. Thismodel provides for a consistent and uniform basis for major project evaluationand comparison. Projects are submitted to an Electric Review Panel whichconsists of subject matter experts representing various technical functions. TheElectric Review Panel conducts a preliminary review of project reasons, theproposed solution, cost estimate and benefits. Once screened by the ElectricReview Panel, projects are submitted to the Capital Review Team for review andselection as part of a portfolio of projects to be included in the Company's12