Please review the Request / Submittal Type pull down menu below and select the most appropriate type. The options available for external vendors or manufacturer reps are:

• Option 4: Inventory Item Request
• Option 5: Non-Inventory Request - New Product Approval
• Option 7: E-XXXX Specification Document Request
• Option 13: General Question
• Option 15: Distribution Standards Feedback Survey

Please review the Request / Submittal Type pull down menu below and select the most appropriate type. The options available for external customers are:

• Option 1: AE Design Criteria Manual Revision Suggestion or Question
• Option 2: Streetlight Study
• Option 3: Moonlight Tower Status Request & Permit Review
• Option 13: General Question
• Option 15: Distribution Standards Feedback Survey

Please review the Request / Submittal Type pull down menu below and select the most appropriate type. The options available for AE Materials Planning and COA Procurement are:

• Option 4: Inventory Item Request
• Option 5: Non-Inventory Request - New Product Approval
• Option 7: E-XXXX Specification Document Request
• Option 13: General Question
• Option 14: Non-Spec Item Review
• Option 15: Distribution Standards Feedback Survey

Please review the Request / Submittal Type pull down menu below and select the most appropriate type. The options available for internal Austin Energy stakeholders are:

• Option 1: AE Design Criteria Manual Revision Suggestion or Question
• Option 2: Streetlight Study
• Option 3: Moonlight Tower Status Request & Permit Review
• Option 4: Inventory Item Request
• Option 5: Non-Inventory Request - New Product Approval
• Option 6 (AE-Only): Trial Equipment Tracking Process
• Option 7: E-XXXX Specification Document Request
• Option 8 (AE-Only): MU/CU Addition or Revision
• Option 9 (AE-Only): Revise Standard Document (DCS, DDG, IDG, GWP)
• Option 10 (AE-Only): Pole Loading Analysis (PLA)
• Option 11 (AE-Only): Report a Potential Equipment Failure
• Option 12 (AE-Only): Research Request Form
• Option 13: General Question
• Option 14: Non-Spec Item Review
• Option 15: Distribution Standards Feedback Survey

The Austin Energy Design Criteria Manual (DCM) provides criteria, guidelines, definitions, and descriptions for the installation of the customer's electric facilities that will be served by Austin Energy. It is also used to communicate the safety and reliability requirements that must be adhered to when developing in proximity to existing or planned electric facilities maintained by Austin Energy. Distribution Standards compiles necessary edits or suggested changes from all DCM stakeholders and reviews each during periodic DCM updates (once or twice a year).

Austin Energy employees must work through their department's representative to submit DCM change requests. The department representative will then go to Microsoft Teams -> Design Criteria Manual Changes -> G - Summary of Changes.xlsx and input the change in the spreadsheet in the prescribed format. If you do not know your department representative, please talk with your supervisor.

Non-Austin Energy employees can submit their requests below. Please be specific and descriptive when filling out each field, and please reach out to your designer if you have questions related to a specific design.

This option is no longer available.

Please contact 311 if a streetlight is not working and they will contact the appropriate workgroup. If you would like to add an individual light, please contact AE Design.

Moonlight Towers are a unique area lighting system for the City of Austin. They are deeply rooted in the history of Austin, are recognized as Texas State Landmarks, and are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Moonlight Tower Status Updates

Moonlight Towers may not be operational at times due to scheduled maintenance, inspection, or restoration cycles. In addition, the Moonlight Towers may not be operational due to repairs, which may include disassembly. If you would like an update on the status of a Moonlight Tower, then please fill out the fields below and our team will reach out to you within 2 business days. Please provide the nearest intersection of the Moonlight Tower in the "Address/Pole#/Nearest Intersection" field.

Moonlight Tower Permit Review

Per City of Austin Code, Austin Energy must evaluate requests to work within 100 ft. of a Moonlight Tower and/or its guy wires or anchor(s) to ensure the structural integrity of the towers and its surrounding area. Construction work performed within 15 ft. of a guy wire or anchor, or any work within 25 ft. of the Moonlight Tower, triggers an in-depth review and may require more information.

Also, developers should plan for the following when creating building plans:

Horizontal Clearance to Permanent Structures

• From Moonlight Tower - 20 ft.
• From Guy Wire or Anchor - 8 ft.

Vertical Clearance to Guy Wire (for driveways) - 16 ft.

In order to perform the review, our team needs drawings detailing the clearances to, and the work around, the towers/guy wires/anchors. Please provide a description of the work to be performed, the sequencing of the work, the barriers you plan to put around the Moonlight Tower facilities while work is performed, a 7-day weather forecast prior to the work being performed, and any other relevant information needed for the review in the Comments section.

You can expect to hear back from someone from our team within 1 week after completing the form below.

Required Attachments for Permit Reviews:

• Drawings: Site Plan, Elevation, etc.

Distribution Standards has reviewed all distribution construction items in Austin Energy's Inventory (items that can be found or ordered through the AE warehouse, with the exception of tools/safety equipment/etc.). All inventory items are associated with an AE Item # (aka, AE Part #), and have an AE-approved manufacturer part number (on an approved manufacturer list or on the Qualified Products List in Maximo).

Requests for item Exceptions, Alternative Parts, or providing updated manufacturer names or part numbers to an existing inventory item should go through "Option #5: Non-Inventory Review - New Product Approval".

See Option 14: Non-Spec Transformer Review if you want to submit a non-spec transformer for Standards.

Inventory Item Requests include:

Change or Obsolete an Inventory Item - Common changes to an inventory item include Maximo Description updates (Long or Short Descriptions), removing an existing manufacturer from the Approved Manufacturer List (a clear reason why must be provided), adding an item already on the approved Manufacturer List to the Qualified Product List (QPL), etc. Obsoleting an inventory item usually involves keeping the item in Maximo for legacy purposes (for example, so Design can remove the old part), but not allowing it to be ordered anymore. NOTE: Removing a manufacturer from the QPL requires clear reasoning, and the documentation of issues must be provided in the Comments section.

Manufacturer Drawing Approval - Approvals are needed by Distribution Standards to verify the equipment meets our specifications. Please describe any deviations from the Construction Standard (drawing) or purchasing specification in the Comments section. Standards will review and generally approves or rejects the poles/provides comments within 5 business days.

Required attachments:

• Manufacturer Drawings
• Pole Analysis (PLS-Pole or spreadsheet for Steel Poles submittals)  
• Associated AE Specification (attach or provide E-XXXX number in the Comments)
• Note: Put the total number of poles to be reviewed in the Comments section.

Transformer Test Report Review - Vendors submit test reports to Distribution Standards for single phase pad mounted transformers. Standards will review and generally approves or rejects the transformer testing report within 2 business days.

Required attachment:

        •Transformer Test Report

• Note: Put the total number of transformers to be reviewed in the Comments Section

Contract Bid Review - Distribution Standards reviews contract bids to ensure our specifications are met in the Procurement Process. Please note the review need-by date in the Comments Section.

Required attachments:

    • Bid Submittal Package (might include Pricing Sheet, Cut Sheet/Catalog, List of Exceptions, Manufacturer Drawings, etc.)

Contract Extension Review - Distribution Standards reviews contract extensions to ensure our specifications are met in the Procurement Process. Please note the need-by date of the extension/renewal, how many extensions are left in the contract, and if you need the latest specification in the Comments Section.

Required Attachments:

• Solicitation Package (Bid Sheet, Forecast, Renewal Notice, etc.)
• Evaluation of Funds

Warehouse Item Review

- Request for general information about an item (often prompted by COA Purchasing), or for an Item Inspection (Quality Control). For an item inspection, Distribution Standards may need to inspect an item to verify it meets our specification. This request could be for items listed in Maximo that state Standards needs to "Inspect on Receipt," or for Construction to request Standards to inspect items when they come in due to quality control concerns.

Required Attachment: Picture of the item (i.e., nameplate)

Two Key Notes:

    1. A minor manufacturer name or manufacturer part number UPDATE only requires the submittal of the Manufacturer Name, Manufacturer Part #, and cut sheet. Please note in the Comments section if you're submitting a minor part number update and type "N/A" in all other required fields.

    2. Distribution Standards does not review or approve tools or safety items. Tool approvals should go through Construction's management and safety item approvals go through AE Safety. Submittals of tools or safety items through this form will be discarded.

Distribution Standards reviews and approves all new products recommended for use on our distribution system. A new product is any equipment or material that is not currently approved in Austin Energy's inventory (items in inventory have an AE Item# and may have multiple approved manufacturer part # per AE Item #).

Required Attachments:

    • Cut Sheet (Brochure and/or technical information of the product)

    • Testing data from a domestic lab

For the quickest review, please note the AE Item # or E-XXXX Specification in the Comments section if your product is associated with an AE Item # or if you believe your product meets a current specification.

Distribution Standards will review the submitted information and determine, with input from others, the next action item (i.e., no current need for the item; add item to Approved Manufacturer or Qualified Product List; add item on the specification for the next bid; create a new specification; one-hour vendor presentation/demo; product trial; plant visit, etc.).

NOTE: The first step to take if you are interested in trialing a product on the distribution system is to submit an Intake Request for "Option 5: Non-Inventory Item Request - New Product Approval." Distribution Standards will vet the product during that step and either determine on its own, or with input from other stakeholders, if we should move forward with a trial. Distribution Standards "Process for Updating Austin Energy's Items in Production" vets each new product and ensures it is rated properly for its application. Putting unapproved items on the distribution system can create a public and personnel safety risk.

Please fill out of the Trial Equipment Tracking fields below to the best of your knowledge. If applicable, provide the following information in the Comments section below:

• Date you received the product
• Funding Information. If the item needs to be procured by Austin Energy, which workgroup's budget will pay for it? Or, will the vendor provide? Etc.
• Associated E-XXXX Specification or similar AE Item #

If you have superintendent approval for the trial equipment in email format, please include it as an attachment. Superintendent approval generally moves the request faster as Construction schedules and workload are often the biggest factor in progressing through the trial process.

Once the product is approved for trial and has been installed long enough for proper evaluation, Standards will send the "New Product Trial Tracking Form" via email to the requester, along with a tracking number (R#) associated with this Option 6 and/or the Option 5 Intake request mentioned in the NOTE above.

Purchasing specifications are essential to ensuring Austin Energy receives quality products that are standardized for our system and rated/constructed/tested properly for their intended application. Purchasing specifications are used during the City of Austin Solicitation Process to provide a clear list of Austin Energy requirements for a product to all bidders, and all products must meet or exceed the requirements listed in the purchasing specification in order to be approved into AE Inventory. A purchasing specification at Austin Energy could either be an E-XXXX Specification Document or an AE Item Description in Maximo.

Distribution Standards maintains approximately 2,100 AE Part #s and their associated Maximo Descriptions, along with approximately 100 E-XXXX Specification Documents. Revisions to E-XXXX Specification Documents may be necessary to clarify requirements or to meet updated COA Procurement Procedures. Requests for revisions to an E-XXXX Specification can be completed by filling out the fields below.

Note: Utilize "Option 4: Inventory Item Request" to make changes to Maximo Descriptions for individual items. Also, the "Create New E-XXXX Specification" option is for the Standards team only to select, because Distribution Standards would create a new specification only after a "Option 5: Non-Inventory Request - New Product Approval" or "Option 6 - Trial Equipment Tracking Process" Intake Request has been submitted. Lastly, E-XXXX Specifications can be found on the Austin Energy website (Austin Energy Website -> Contractors -> Other Guides, Specifications, Standards, & Code -> Purchasing Specifications for Distribution Construction).

E-XXXX Specification Requests fall into one of two categories:

Request the latest E-XXXX Specification - Among other reasons, an AE Contract Manager may request the latest specification in preparation for a solicitation, or a vendor may request the specification prior to seeking a New Product Approval.

Revise an Existing E-XXXX Specification- Revisions to E-XXXX Specifications may include updating other E-XXXX Specifications/Maximo Descriptions or Common Documents (DCS, IDG, DDG), so please provide a clear rationale for your request.

Distribution Standards manages approximately 5,300 MUs and CUs utilized by Distribution Design and Construction. If a new MU/CU needs to be added or you found an error or see a correction that needs to be made, then please fill out the fields below and provide as much information as possible for our review.

Distribution Standards is the holder of, and coordinator of changes to, Austin Energy's common distribution documents. These documents include:

• Distribution Construction Standards
• Distribution Design Guidelines
• Illumination Design Guideline
• Design Criteria Manual, which is not included in this section. If a revision is needed for the DCM, then please see Option 1 on this form.

Please provide as much information about your request as possible.

This option has been removed. Designers should submit their requests to their supervisor/manager. Requests for updating the pole loading catalog should utilize "Option 13 - General Question."

Two Key Notes:

1. Equipment can "fail" to operate properly for a number of reasons. The root cause may be a failure in the product itself, improper installation or operation, incorrect settings, failure to perform required maintenance, etc. Therefore, please be cognizant of your words when communicating with customers and, when asked, simply state that our team is investigating the cause of the outage.
2. Distribution Standards is notified of all Potential Distribution Equipment Failures, but typically only investigates for:

• High-value equipment (switchgear, ATOs, reclosers, air switches, etc.)
• Common equipment (lightning arrestors, insulators, overhead transformers, etc.) that has shown a propensity to fail. Due to the relatively high volume of these types of failures, please make a direct request for Standards to investigate in the Comments section.

Understanding the cause(s) of distribution equipment failures is critical to ensure public and employee safety, and to provide reliable electric service. Providing as much information as possible upfront speeds up the review process, and cuts down on follow-up communication between Distribution Standards and the employee submitting the information.

Helpful Info & Attachments:

• Put tests performed (hi-pot, etc.) in the Comments section
• Put equipment location after removal from the field in the Comments section
• Attach pictures of:
• The equipment in the field
• Any damage around the area
• The device nameplate

Distribution Standards provides research requests for the following:

• Requests related to historical changes in Distribution Common Documents (DCM, DCS, IDG, DDG), Inventory Items, MU/CUs, Equipment Failures, etc.
• Requests for a solution to a recurring problem

Note 1: Please select N/A in the Problem Statement field for requests related to historical changes.

Note 2: Utilize Option #5: Non-Inventory Request - New Product Approval" if you have a specific manufacturer part # in mind for a solution to a recurring problem. Also, if you've heard of a potential solution that addresses your issue (i.e., a manufacturer/vendor who might provide a solution, or another utility you believe that has addressed your issue), then please provide their information in the Comments section.

If you have a general question for Distribution Standards, then please fill out the Comments section below and attach any relevant documents.

KEY NOTE: ONLY TXDOT, AE DESIGNERS, OR AE CONTRACT MANAGERS SHOULD FILL OUT THIS FORM.

The purpose of this form is for the submittal of items for review by Distribution Standards. Austin Energy's preference is to receive items that meet our specification exactly, but we realize that is not always possible and so "non-spec" items are allowed as long as they meet our safety and operational needs.

Any exception to the respective specification(s) should be noted in the Comments section or a redlined AE specification noting the exceptions should be attached. Distribution Standards will review the information provided and will approve or reject accordingly.

Required Attachments:

• Manufacturer Drawings
• Manufacturer cut sheet with the corresponding AE Item # noted on each cut sheet
• Redlined AE Specification noting the exceptions OR note the specification requirement (Section 1.3.2, etc.) and the exception you need in the Comments section.

Distribution Standards values your feedback! Please let us know how we did addressing your request by answering the questions below.

The ratings for each question are:

1 - Very Unsatisfied

2 - Unsatisfied

3 - Neutral

4 - Satisfied

5 - Very Satisfied

Use the Comments section for feedback on what went well or did not go well on your project, or if you have non-project related suggestions for improvement. Thank you!

If applicable, please use the comments to describe how the Standards team member did or did not meet your project expectations. If you know the tracking number (R#XXXXXX, sent via email when the project was assigned), please add that number to the comments, as well.