Update! Henry Winters Electrical Outlet-Projected School Reopening!

The Coalition Radio Network, as a measure of its commitment to the Pawtucket Community, will continue to report on the challenges faced by The Henry Winters School, so as to inform Parents in Pawtucket

The Letter Sent By Pawtucket School Superintendent Cheryl McWilliams

Two approaches are being managed simultaneously, by the Pawtucket School Superintendent’s Office, in order to restore power to The Henry Winters School.

The arrival of a portable generator able to handle entire electrical load is in process. The required connections/inspections will take 15 hours

Simultaneously, the team responding to the outage, comprised of representatives of Collier, Gilbane, Slam Collaborative, and the Project Electrical Engineer, from Eaton Corporation, have traced the breakdown to an existing “bus bar”.

The projected reopening is still currently scheduled to occur on Friday, September 14.

The Following Memo Was Received By The Coalition Radio Network:

1. Eaton has been onsite all morning evaluating the switchgear, they have determined the following:
   1. The existing bus bar will need to be replaced, however, they do not have replacements available and cannot determine exactly when they will be available, therefore they have identified a temporary solution as follows:
      1. The existing bus bar can be temporarily repaired and safely utilized – this repair is occurring now
      2. The insulators for the bus bar need to be replaced – these have been found and are being delivered to the site for installation today
      3. The bus and the main breaker will need to be retested – Eaton has arranged to have this done tomorrow morning
         1. During this testing (which is approximately 1 hour) the building will need to be removed from generator power
      4. Once the testing is complete the secondary electrical feeders will need to be re-terminated in the switchgear – this operation is scheduled to occur tomorrow immediately following the testing
      5. Following the re-termination the electrical inspector will need to return and inspect the work and review the test results – we see this occurring later tomorrow afternoon
      6. Once the reinspection occurs the electrical inspector will need to call RI Energy to have them restore power to the transformer – we also see this occurring later tomorrow afternoon
      7. Once the transformer is energized by RI Energy Rossi can restore power to the entire building
         1. This is a multi-step process to turn power on to everything within the building – we foresee this occurring tomorrow evening
         2. The mechanical contractor will also need to participate to make sure equipment comes back online correctly – we foresee this occurring tomorrow evening
         3. Based on our discussion yesterday with the building official if this is done he will want to come back to the site and confirm that the building will be able to be re-occupied – we foresee this occurring tomorrow evening
   2. The bus bars will ultimately need to be replaced at a later date once they are sourced and deliver.  This will have to be coordinated and will involve a shutdown likely over a weekend when the school is not in use
2. We have been able to source a temporary generator that the Electrical Engineer of Record (EEOR) has confirmed can be connected to the building’s generator connection to power the building life safety, lighting and ventilation air.  This equipment is due onsite this afternoon.  The EEOR has provided a panel schedule with direction on what would need to be done to shed load from the building for the generator to be connected and run these critical items.  Based on yesterdays walkthrough with the building official he will want to come to the site and confirm that the building will be able to be re-occupied if this approach is implemented

Suggested course of action is as follows:

1. Continue to proceed as detailed above with the temporary repairs to the main service, including the testing, re-inspections and re-energizing of the building to restore full capacity on utility power.
2. Make a determination by 12 noon tomorrow if the temporary repairs are going as planned, if nothing has occurred that is concerning, continue with that plan and complete the work and bring the building back up on permanent power into tomorrow evening.  If at 12 noon tomorrow the temporary repair isn’t going as planned, install the temporary generator and load shed option and bring the building back up on generator power tomorrow evening.

https://youtu.be/i4NLFVFLLrA