The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About#18 Vacuum Circuit Breaker AGENDA ITEM #18 r P, I Public Utility District MEETING DATE: August 7, 2024 TO: Board of Directors FROM: Jared Carpenter, Electric Utility Director Keith Renshaw, Electric Engineering Manager SUBJECT: Consideration of Approval for Procurement of a Vacuum Circuit Breaker for the Martis Valley Substation Modernization Project in an Amount Not to Exceed of $310,897. APPROVED BY: Brian C. Wright, General Manager RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the General Manager to execute a Material Purchase Contract with Meiden America Switchgear for the purchase of one 145kV class dead-tank vacuum circuit breaker in the amount of $282,633, plus a 10% contingency, for a not to exceed purchase amount of $310,897. BACKGROUND: District Code section 3.08.010 — Procedure for Purchase of Commodities or Equipment Over $15,000 Estimated purchase amount: $310,897 The District's Martis Valley Substation (MV Sub) was built, commissioned, and placed into service in 1981. MV Sub serves areas including the Town of Truckee's administrative building, the Truckee Tahoe Airport, Truckee Sanitary District, Sierra Meadows, the West and East River Street corridors, Truckee Crossroads shopping center, and the Coldstream development. MV Sub is the District's only substation served by the 120kV transmission system, and serves as a critical backup for redundant distribution system operation. Over the life of MV Sub, various capital improvements have been made, including seismic anchoring, protective relay upgrades, and civil infrastructure maintenance. Similar to past substation modernization and rebuild projects like the Donner Lake Substation rebuild completed in 2010, the Tahoe Donner substation rebuild completed in 2014, and the Truckee Substation rebuild completed in 2022, MV Sub has fully depreciated, nearing the end of its service life, and requires modernization to ensure reliable operation into the future. MV Sub is the District's only remaining substation that has not undergone a modernization and rebuild project. Page 1 of 4 Page 65 of 87 Since 2021, Electric Engineering has been developing plans for the revitalization and modernization of MV Sub. Over the past few years, Electric Engineering has worked with its primary engineering consultant, Qualus LLC (Qualus), to develop a complete scope of work for the proposed substation improvements. The scope of the project includes: 1. Relocating the substation's outdoor 12.5kV distribution bus into an indoor Switchgear Control Enclosure (SCE); 2. Replacement of the 1980s vintage SF6 high-voltage circuit switcher with a Vacuum Circuit Breaker (Breaker); 3. Repair or replacement of structural components, including spalling concrete foundations; 4. Relocation of the DC backup battery system to an indoor enclosure; 5. Adding a secondary electric station service for redundancy; 6. Replacement of non-operational, non-loadbreak bus tie switches with a switchgear transfer bus; 7. Replacement of porcelain insulators with polymer insulators; 8. Upgrades to the existing SCADA system hardware; and 9. Improvements to civil infrastructure addressing aging infrastructure, substation security, installation of infrastructure to accommodate the proposed future Battery Energy Storage System, and making provisions for future distribution feeders. The proposed scope of the MV Sub modernization project ensures improved reliability, operability, visibility of the station systems, and maintainability of the substation for the next 40 years. ANALYSIS AND BODY: In discussions with the District's engineering consultant through the scoping and design process, staff were informed of long-lead times for the procurement of both the SCE and the Breaker. Staff identified that it was necessary to focus on procurement of the long-lead time substation equipment in parallel with design work to keep the overall project on track and on time. The current estimated procurement lead times for both the SCE and Breaker are 12 to 24 months. Working with Qualus, staff prioritized developing detailed technical specifications for both the SCE and Breaker to ensure both items could be put out to bid mid-2024. On May 20, 2024, the District posted the bid for the Breaker. Bids were opened on June 12, 2024. The bid process for the Breaker resulted in one response from Meiden America Switchgear which was found to be responsive, in the amount of$282,633 which include freight charges for delivery. No bid questions were received, and no clarifying responses or addendums were issued during the Breaker bid process. The Breaker bid details can be found below: Page 2 of 4 Page 66 of 87 Vendor Unit Cost Responsive Bid Notes: Meiden America $282,633 Yes Responsive Bid, no Switchgear technical issues. Staff is satisfied with the bid results for Breaker. To the staff's knowledge, only two manufacturers in North America manufacture equipment meeting the District's technical specifications for the Breaker, so not receiving more bids was not surprising. Therefore, staff recommends the Board authorize the General Manager to execute a Material Purchase Contract with Meiden America Switchgear for the purchase of one 145kV class dead-tank vacuum circuit breaker in the amount of $282,633, plus a 10% contingency, for a not to exceed purchase amount of $310,897. This item supports the following objectives and goals identified by the District. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: District Code 1 .05.020 Objectives: 1. Responsibly serve the public. 6. Manage the District in an effective, efficient and fiscally responsible manner. District Code 1 .05.030 Goals: 1. Manage for Financial Stability and Resiliency 4. Take the best of private sector thinking to modernize the utility and add value to our communities. FISCAL IMPACT: The District's Capital Budget for FY24-25 allocates $2,000,000 from Capital Reserves for the Martis Valley Modernization project (shown in the FY24025 Capital Budget as "Martis Valley Substation Rebuild") in FY24, $2,500,000 in FY25, and $1,250,000 in FY26. The procurement of the Breaker, in addition to the SCE, another agendized item for Board consideration, together does not exceed the FY24 budget of $2,000,000 for the Martis Valley Modernization project. The payment schedule for the SCE dictates that the maximum amount that could be paid to the vendor in FY24 is 70% of the overall cost, with the remaining 30% due for delivery. Therefore, the total estimated spent on the SCE and Breaker in FY24 is $1,754,102. Thus far in FY24, the project has incurred approximately $77,000 of engineering and consulting costs. The total engineering and consulting costs are not estimated to exceed $200,000 in FY24. When combined with the equipment procurement costs associated with this agenda item, the estimated costs for the Martis Valley Rebuild project in FY24 are $1,954,102, which does not exceed the budget of $2,000,000. This agenda item does not include any construction costs associated with the Martis Valley Rebuild project. Those costs will be brought back to the Board at a future meeting, after a complete design and construction package has been completed and publicly bid for construction services. The District budgeted this project to be funded with Capital Reserve funds, which are Page 3 of 4 Page 67 of 87 sufficient with a current balance of $10.8M. However, due to delays in the projects slated to be funded with 2022 electric debt proceeds, the District is recommending the Martis Valley Modernization project be funded with 2022 electric debt proceeds, which has a current fund balance of $6.9M. ATTACHMENTS: None Page 4 of 4 Page 68 of 87