Council action to award a purchase order to Emerald Electrical Consultants, in the amount of $255,799.21, for Substation A 20MVAR Capacitor Bank Addition Construction for the Power & Light Department.

IPL staff recommends issuing a purchase order for the Sub A 20MVAR capacitor bank addition construction.

Substation A is located at 21500 E Truman Rd, Independence, Missouri 64056 adjacent to the retired Blue Valley Power Plant. Due to the retirement of the Blue Valley Power Plant a MVAR deficiency was created per the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) planning standards. As a result, additional reactive resources are needed to replace the Blue Valley Power Plant generator VAR supply with a switched capacitor bank sized at 20 MVAR.

Substation A serves as a major hub and was determined as the most efficient location for an additional 20 MVAR capacitor bank. No customers are served from this substation, as it is a transmission substation with no distribution emanating from it.

The capacitors ideally should have been online when the generators were retired, which occurred June 1, 2020. The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) sets guidelines for the reactive power (VARS) that each participant must supply to the pool. Based on the current schedule, installation should start by November 2022.

The capacitor bank addition project for Substation A will include a new 69kV 20MVAR capacitor bank installed at a decommissioned Blue Valley transformer location. IPL will reuse the 69kV circuit breaker and disconnect switch currently in place and previously used for the decommissioned transformer. Major components for the project have already been procured including the capacitor bank and relay panel. This construction contract involves the labor and minor materials to complete the capacitor bank installation at Substation A as specified.

An Invitation to Bid (ITB) for Substation A 20MVAR capacitor bank addition construction project issued on February 8, 2022. The ITB was published through the Public Purchase, the City’s e-procurement service.

Two (2) bids were received on March 8, 2022: Emerald Electrical Consultants and Black & McDonald. Emerald Electrical Consultants provided the lowest, responsive bid for the Substation A 20MVAR capacitor bank addition construction project. See the attached bid tabulation. IPL staff recommends Emerald Electrical Consultants for award of the Substation A 20MVAR capacitor bank addition construction project.

Emerald Electrical Consultants bid of $255,799.21 is $154,200.79 below the engineer’s estimate of $410,000.00. Approval of this item authorizes Power & Light to approve change orders up to 10% of the approved amount.

The fiscal impact to the City is $255,799.21. Funding for the Substation A 20MVAR Capacitor Bank Addition project is included in the 20/21 fiscal year proposed budget, page number 153, account number 70202110 5406 1714.