When the substation powering an 12,000 acre irrigation system failed, Maddox got the transformer back online in just over a week.
“We serve the Kittitas valley with irrigation water for crops…we cover about 12,000 acres and serve about 3,000 customers.”
That’s Richard Corkins. He is an electrical project manager for Cascade Irrigation district. Cascade is a water distribution company in Ellensburg, Washington. Their substation energizes eight 300hp motors that pump water from the Yakima river. The water is then distributed via a system of canals that water farm land.
While the valley has ideal soil and weather for growing Timothy Hay, the challenge is the water. “Without the water, none of this is possible. The water is the blood of this valley” said Corkins.
Substation Goes Down
One Saturday evening, Cascade’s substation started leaking oil and failed. With the transformer out of service, all eight of Cascade’s water pumps stopped. Without the water, hundreds of acres of crops started to go dry.
Within ten hours, everyone in the valley knew about the emergency. As an electrical contractor, Corkins had heard about Maddox from a couple of utilities. So, when Cascade called an emergency board meeting, Corkins laid out his plan: be at Maddox at 7 AM Monday morning with the transformer.
Maddox labeled the new request as an “emergency condition down” order. This is a special label that prioritizes customers with time sensitive emergencies. Immediately, technicians started repairing the 2500 kVA 12470 D - 2400 Y substation. With a five day turn around time, Maddox had the substation ready for delivery by Friday of the same week.
That following Sunday, the unit was connected, energized, and powering Cascade operations again. Cascade was down just eight days.
“Our crop loss was about $30,000 an hour. Our crop loss total was just shy of $6 million and Maddox transformer mitigated a lot of that cost, by getting to us that fast.” said Corkins.
“Working with Maddox was just an absolute God send,” said Corkins. “It’s just a top notch organization that got us through an emergency. They were right on target with their estimate.”
In an emergency, time is critical, and downtime can be costly. That’s why we prioritize customers with emergencies where every hour counts. We can mitigate your company's downtime by repairing your transformer or shipping you a new one faster than anyone else. Our experienced team of technicians is ready to help you with any of your transformer needs. Fill out the form below to talk to a representative today.
