Topic:"Asset Management" in M13118

s, and integration of climate risks into asset risk assessments and long-term investment planning. Detailed examples are provided throughout this Plan and in the accompanying Wildfire Mitigation Plan. NS Power recognizes that climate adapt...

AI summary NS Power outlines its commitment to integrating climate risks into asset management and long-term planning. The plan emphasizes flexibility, continuous improvement, and shared accountability across the organization. NS Power will monitor climate risks, collect climate-related data, and use external expertise to enhance understanding of future climate conditions in Nova Scotia.

1.1. Nova Scotia Power Inc. NS Power is a vertically-integrated electric utility involved in all aspects of the electricity supply chain – generation, transmission, and distribution – across Nova Scotia. NS Power is a fully owned subsidiar...

AI summary NS Power, a vertically-integrated electric utility in Nova Scotia, is implementing a climate adaptation planning process to manage risks from climate change and extreme weather events. The Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP), filed with the Nova Scotia Energy Board, outlines a risk-based approach to asset management and climate adaptation, ensuring the reliability and resilience of the electricity system.

1.3. Leadership Engagement NS Power's Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and senior management recognize that climate change presents both current and emerging risks to the utility's operations, assets, and customers. This perspective aligns...

AI summary NS Power's leadership recognizes climate change as a significant risk to operations and customers. Climate adaptation planning is integrated into asset management, reliability planning, and capital planning to ensure system reliability and cost-effective electricity delivery.

2.1. Identification of Assets and Operations Critical to NS Power's Mission and Mandate The assessment and assignment of the Criticality of an asset is fundamental to NS Power's approach to risk evaluation and decision‐making. Criticality...

AI summary NS Power identifies critical assets based on their impact on health, safety, environment, and business sustainability. Criticality is assessed using a 1-5 scale defined by the Asset Management System Operating Procedure and aligns with the Capital Execution Justification Criteria (CEJC). Asset risk assessments are conducted by Asset Strategy Committees.

3. Step 3: Identify Key Potential Climate Impacts This section explains how NS Power has increased its knowledge on how climate impacts may develop over time and how they might be prioritized for adaptation. It summarizes the climate scena...

AI summary This section outlines NS Power's approach to identifying and prioritizing climate impacts on its critical assets and operations. It highlights the use of climate scenario data and prioritization methodologies to guide climate risk integration into asset management and planning processes.

3.2. Physical Climate Risk Analysis To support climate-informed decision making, NS Power maintains a suite of climate datasets and planning resources that are used to evaluate potential climate impacts on assets and operations. These reso...

AI summary NS Power utilizes a suite of climate datasets and planning resources to evaluate potential climate impacts on assets and operations, including climate projections, flood mapping, and wildfire risk assessments, to support engineering design and risk management activities.

3.3. Identification of Critical Assets and Operations Vulnerable to Climate-related Risks Building on the criticality assessment of NS Power assets and the climate datasets, this section focuses on identifying assets and operations vulnera...

AI summary This section discusses NS Power's process for identifying critical assets and operations vulnerable to climate-related risks, using climate datasets and a criticality assessment. The evaluation criteria include adaptation degree, operational and capital expenditure levels, and adaptation timing, informed by on-the-ground experiences and past incidents.

The Adaptation Degree variable uses three classifications: - Incremental Climate impact is managed within existing processes - Tactical Climate impact requires new processes - Strategic Climate impact requires a significant change in asset...

AI summary The document outlines the Adaptation Degree and Expenditure Level variables used by NS Power to assess climate impacts on its assets. It describes three classifications of adaptation, timing of impacts, and key operational areas evaluated. A prioritization tool, the ELAD Matrix, is developed to help integrate climate risks into asset management strategies.

4. Step 4: Assess Risks to Critical and Vulnerable Assets and Operations This section explains NS Power's existing asset risk assessment process and lays the groundwork for integrating climate impacts into assessments of generation and tra...

AI summary NS Power integrates climate-related risks into its existing asset management processes rather than using a separate climate-specific risk assessment. This approach ensures that climate impacts are considered alongside other enterprise risks such as safety, reliability, and affordability in the evaluation of generation, transmission, and distribution assets.

4.2. Asset Risk Assessment and Climate Integration NS Power utilizes a common enterprise-wide risk assessment methodology to evaluate asset risks across the organization. The process considers both the criticality of an asset and its condi...

AI summary NS Power uses a risk assessment methodology to evaluate asset risks, incorporating climate projections to guide investment and maintenance strategies. Climate variables such as wind, flooding, and temperature are considered to assess potential impacts on asset performance and safety. Risk mitigation actions, including design modifications and emergency preparedness, are managed through existing asset management processes.

Chapter 3: Risk/Opportunity Response and Adaptation Planning Chapter 3 comprises two steps that show how NS Power's asset risk assessment approach can be used to record and monitor climate data and feed learnings from the data into decisio...

AI summary Chapter 3 outlines a two-step process for NS Power to use its asset risk assessment approach to record and monitor climate data, enabling the identification, ranking, and prioritization of adaptation measures with an enterprise-wide perspective.

5. Step 5 Identify Potential Adaptation Measures (risk controls) This step reviews the types of risk mitigation measures that are available to NS Power to adapt to physical climate impacts and the Company's management system for climate in...

AI summary This section outlines how NS Power integrates climate adaptation into its existing asset management system and capital planning processes. It identifies potential adaptation measures such as operational changes, enhanced monitoring, and infrastructure hardening, emphasizing a risk-based decision-making framework for managing climate-related risks.

Wind Assets (Nuttby, Digby) Wind facilities are exposed to hurricanes, extreme wind gusts, icing, precipitation-driven erosion, and wildfire risk. These hazards can affect turbine availability, energy yield, access roads, padmount transfor...

AI summary Wind facilities in Nuttby and Digby face risks from hurricanes, extreme wind gusts, icing, erosion, and wildfires. NS Power is implementing adaptation measures such as upgrading turbine cooling systems, improving drainage, and integrating wildfire mapping into operations planning to mitigate these risks.

Distribution System Distribution assets are highly exposed to windstorms, ice storms, wildfires, heat-driven loading, flooding, and coastal erosion. These hazards threaten overhead lines, padmount transformers, access roads, and switching...

AI summary The distribution system faces significant risks from natural hazards such as windstorms, ice storms, wildfires, and flooding. NS Power is addressing these through its Five-Year Reliability Plan, which includes vegetation management, infrastructure upgrades, and flood-proofing measures.

6 Chapter 4 Preparation for Implementation Chapter 4 comprises two steps on forward-looking implementation. Although NS Power is well-prepared with a robust, existing asset risk management system, integrating climate data and long-term sce...

AI summary Chapter 4 outlines two steps for forward-looking implementation, emphasizing the need for NS Power to integrate climate data and long-term scenario learnings into its existing asset risk management system, despite its current robustness.

6.3 Step 7: Detail and Document Implementing Control Actions This section lists the various NS Power roles that will be involved in integrating climate considerations in order to fulfil this adaptation plan. Each role will have a list of s...

AI summary This section outlines NS Power's roles in integrating climate considerations into its adaptation plan. It emphasizes the governance structure needed to support climate analysis and the integration of climate impacts into existing risk management and asset management systems.

6.3.1.3 Enterprise Asset Management (Managers) - Is directly accountable for performance against key metrics for climate impacts (see Section 8.2); - Allocates resources to enable implementation of Climate Adaptation Plan; - Participates a...

AI summary The Enterprise Asset Management (Managers) section outlines responsibilities related to climate impacts, including accountability for performance metrics, resource allocation for climate adaptation, participation in risk assessment, and raising climate change concerns to senior leaders.

6.4.1 Performance Metrics & Reporting System reliability and availability are monitored and reported on a regular basis through existing Enterprise Asset Management, Transmission & Distribution, and Generation performance reporting process...

AI summary The document discusses NS Power's performance metrics and reporting processes related to system reliability, asset performance, and climate adaptation. It highlights the use of existing reporting systems to monitor reliability, identify climate-related risks, and support adaptation investments.

6.4.2 Continuous Improvement NS Power's approach to climate adaptation utilizes existing programs and processes to ensure continuous improvement is achieved. The performance monitoring reports outlined above are one example of existing pro...

AI summary NS Power's climate adaptation strategy relies on continuous improvement through existing programs like performance monitoring, asset management mechanisms, and the RCA program. These tools help identify areas for improvement, trigger adaptation measures, and ensure the Climate Adaptation Plan remains effective.

Appendix A – Asset Class Climate Adaptation Profiles This appendix provides climate adaptation profiles for NS Power's major asset classes. Each profile summarizes the primary climate hazards, observed and anticipated impacts, current adap...

AI summary This appendix outlines climate adaptation profiles for NS Power's major asset classes, detailing climate hazards, impacts, current adaptation efforts, and future priorities to support climate-informed asset management and risk mitigation.

Climate Risk and Impact Hydroelectric assets are particularly sensitive to changes in watershed hydrology. Climate change may alter precipitation patterns, flood frequencies, runoff timing, reservoir inflows, and wildfire risk, affecting b...

AI summary Climate change impacts hydroelectric assets by altering precipitation, flood frequency, runoff timing, and wildfire risk, which affect operations and long-term asset management. Climate adaptation is being integrated into planning, operations, and dam safety programs.

Asset Overview NS Power's substations are critical facilities that connect generation, transmission, and distribution systems across the province. These assets include transformers, breakers, switches, protection systems, control buildings...

AI summary NS Power's substations are essential infrastructure connecting generation, transmission, and distribution systems. Climate adaptation efforts aim to protect equipment, ensure system reliability, and reduce vulnerabilities from extreme weather and environmental changes.

Adaptation in Practice Example / Initiative Why It Matters Flood Risk Assessments and Site Hardening NS Power is completing flood risk assessments and site-specific resilience evaluations for vulnerable substations. For example, the 82V El...

AI summary NS Power is implementing various adaptation initiatives to enhance grid resilience, including flood risk assessments, risk-based asset management, advanced monitoring programs, mobile substations, and grid modernization efforts. These measures aim to improve operational flexibility, reduce customer impacts, and support proactive maintenance during extreme weather events.

3.1 Enhanced Risk Profiling A summarized risk map that shows the overall ignition probability and estimated wildfire consequence along the electric lines and equipment NS Power maintains detailed risk profilesfor itstransmission lines and...

AI summary NS Power is enhancing its risk profiling by integrating wildfire-related data with existing infrastructure risk assessments. A provincewide wildfire risk assessment project, initiated in 2025-2026, aims to evaluate wildfire hazards and their impact on electrical infrastructure. The final results are expected in 2026 and will be used to improve risk management and mitigation strategies.

Substation Building Standards Roofing materials are a major determinant of whether a wildfire will ignite a nearby structure. To protect NS Power's building assets, the targeted roof classification is "A", "B" or "C" where Fire Rating Clas...

AI summary NS Power is implementing fire safety measures for substation buildings, including using fire-rated roofing materials and fire suppression systems. Current standards recommend asphalt shingles for new construction, while retrofits use compressed inert gas systems like Inergen to prevent fires.

Replacement of wooden poles NS Power targets replacement of wood poles that have deteriorated and/or pose a risk as an ignition source if they are subject to weather conditions that exceed their operating design standards. Poles in high-ri...

AI summary NS Power plans to replace deteriorated wooden poles, especially in high-risk locations, with more fire-resistant materials like steel, concrete, or composite materials. The decision is based on safety concerns related to fire risks under extreme weather conditions. Alternative materials are more expensive but are considered for replacements where necessary.

Crossarm replacement NS Power deploys an inspection program for transmission and distribution equipment, including crossarms. Crossarms are assessed for condition and replaced as appropriate. A new transmission standard now in place allows...

AI summary NS Power has implemented an inspection program for crossarms, including replacing wooden crossarms with steel ones under a new transmission standard to reduce wildfire risks from crossarm failures.

Vegetation inventory system In 2025 and 2026 NS Power is advancing a project to further enhance its existing vegetation inventory system, and this initiative will integrate and leverage new and existing vegetation management data for enhan...

AI summary In 2025 and 2026, NS Power is enhancing its vegetation inventory system by integrating new and existing vegetation management data to improve risk-based decision-making on the transmission and distribution system. This includes using satellite imagery analysis and integrating condition data into BI tools like Tableau.