ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the major issues associated with the capital-intensive construction projects and provides a basic understanding of the types of issues. The construction of new substations and the expansion of existing facilities are commonplace projects in electric utilities. There are four major types of electric substations. The first type is the switchyard at a generating station. The second type of substation, typically known as the customer substation, functions as the main source of electric power supply for one particular business customer. The third type of substation involves the transfer of bulk power across the network and is referred to as a system station. The fourth type of substation is the distribution station. Generator switchyards tend to be large installations that are typically engineered and constructed by the power plant designers and are subject to planning, finance, and construction efforts different from those of routine substation projects.
