Avoiding a $120K Substation Delay at AEP | KYRO Case Study

Equipment failures on live substations do not wait for end-of-day reports. When something goes wrong during energization, the utility needs the facts in front of engineering before the outage window closes. If the oversight team does not have a documented record ready, a same-week fix becomes a weeks-long delay that costs more than six figures and adversely impacts every project behind it.  

American Electric Power (AEP) avoided an estimated $120,000 in Protection and Control delay costs at a substation in Oklahoma when a field oversight team identified a quick fix for a defective network switch. By presenting AEP with a clear proposal backed by documented facts, the team secured immediate approval. The oversight team relied on KYRO as its dedicated system of record for daily field reports, issue documentation, project records, and final inspections. That internal discipline enabled by KYRO AI is exactly what allowed the team to show up prepared when it mattered most.

The Challenge

Delivering electricity to 5.6 million customers across 11 states, AEP operates the largest electric transmission system in the country, spanning 40,000 line miles. Substation projects on a system of this scale run on tight, interdependent outage windows.

When equipment fails, the utility needs the problem reported immediately with all the facts attached. This allows engineering to make a critical decision before the outage window closes and costs start compounding.

AEP uses specialized outside oversight teams for Transmission Construction Representative (TCR) and Field Construction Representative (FCR) work across its substation, line, aerial fiber, underground fiber, civil, and tower projects. Ultimately, the quality of oversight the utility receives depends entirely on how well those field teams document their work and how prepared they are to communicate when something goes wrong.

What Happened at the substation

During the energization of new equipment at an AEP substation in Oklahoma, —a brand-new network switch failed to power up. The oversight team immediately troubleshot the issue. They confirmed the voltage and polarity at the input terminals were correct; the switch itself was defective out of the box.

This switch was essential for completing the remote checkout with the dispatch center. Without it, the project could not close out. Because the unit was under warranty, waiting for a replacement would take three to four weeks. That delay threatened both the immediate project schedule and every other project waiting in the queue behind it. The estimated hit was roughly $120,000 in Protection and Control costs alone.

Searching for a solution, the team found a compatible spare switch sitting in a rack earmarked for a future phase of the exact same project. They documented the initial failure, their troubleshooting steps, and the proposed fix. Armed with this clear documentation, they brought the proposal to AEP's oversight team and leadership, securing rapid approval.

Following all safety protocols, the wiring crew swapped the switch. The new unit powered up, was programmed successfully, and established full communication between the station devices and the RTU.

The three-to-four-week wait was completely eliminated. The $120,000 delay never happened. The switch failure did not hold up the schedule.

How KYRO Was Used

While AEP maintained its own internal processes, KYRO AI served as the oversight team's dedicated system of record. The team's ability to present AEP with a clear, fact-supported proposal stemmed directly from their discipline of documenting work in KYRO.

• Project Documents on Hand: The oversight team maintained its project records in KYRO, ensuring inspectors had the exact documentation they needed directly on their devices in the field.

• Daily Field Reports: The team logged each day's progress, crew details, and daily issues in KYRO. When the switch failed, a comprehensive, running record of the project's status already existed.

• Issue Documentation: The team recorded the failure, the troubleshooting steps, and the proposed fix in KYRO, attaching clear photos and detailed notes. Having that pristine record meant the team was prepared with the full picture the moment they raised the issue with AEP leadership.

• Final Inspections: Following the swap, the newly installed switch was photographed and inspected directly within KYRO, creating a complete end-to-end record from the initial failure to the final fix.

The Result

• AEP avoided approximately $120,000 in Protection and Control delay costs at a substation.

• A three-to-four-week schedule delay was completely eliminated.

• Year-end milestones and in-service date were protected and met on time.

• The oversight team completed 138,000 hours of work on AEP's system without a single recordable injury.

Why This Matters for Utilities

A utility does not need to overhaul its own internal processes to benefit from KYRO. What changes is the quality and clarity of the oversight it receives. When the team working on your infrastructure maintains a rigorous, documented record of every day's work, every issue, and every inspection, your leadership gets better proposals, faster decisions, and fewer surprises.

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