(6/25) The Moser Road substation is closer to completion thanks to bid approvals at the May Town Council meeting. The substation, which was built in 1996, is a primary supplier of electricity to the Town. At the time of construction, the materials used were expected to last for approximately 25 years denoting many parts of the substation are ready for replacement. At recent inspections, Preston Waller & Associates, an engineering consulting firm based in Salisbury, found potential material and mechanical failures as well as obsolete equipment.
Jay Waller, Electrical Engineer of the company, provided the Town with a quote of $2,425,000 to include labor, engineering, all parts and materials, contingencies, etc. Broken down, the substation breaker and controls scope came to $1,247,000 and the transformer remediation scope came to $1,178,000. According to Waller, the cost comes from every piece of the substation being either replaced or repaired. They will also add a computer system to operate the equipment.
The Council was able to procure bonds through the Local Government Infrastructure Program to fund the Moser Road Substation as well as additional departmental upgrades. The bond may not exceed a total of $4.2 million and can be used for other projects in Town such as the Catoctin Heights feeders, estimated at $1.1 million, and $348,000 for a new bucket truck. The total of the three projects, including the Substation, reaches $3.8 million. The Town has already secured a 20-year loan for the bucket truck and a 25-year loan for the Moser Road Substation.
Electric Utility Director Tyler Hubbard introduced the three bids for approval at the May meeting. The first to be approved is installation of the SCADA system (supervisory control and data acquisition)." The SCADA system is the brains of it [the system]," said Hubbard. "It controls and tells the breakers what to do." Mayor John Kinnaird pointed out that the Town already has a SCADA system on the wastewater system. With SCADA, physical checks of the plant’s system by staff will no longer be necessary, instead they can review the data through a computer program. The Town received more than 15 bids with most under $70,000 which fell well under the $120,000 the Town expected SCADA to cost. Waller recommended the Town approve the bid by NovaTech Automation for $47,545 because they ‘ticked all the boxes’. The Council agreed and the bid was approved.
The second item was the disposal of the old breakers and installation of refurbished breakers, estimated to cost $151,543. According to Hubbard the Town budgeted a total of $300,000 for the installation of the breakers and switches, however, because the breakers could be installed much sooner than the switches the Town is willing to accept the bid of $151,543 for the ten breakers by Delta Utility Services. "We feel that we’re right in line with where we need to be as far as the cost on the labor part," said Hubbard. The switches will be a separate bid at a later date and the Town hopes they will run an estimated $150,000.
Lastly, Hubbard asked the Council to approve a bid of $39,800 for Waller to coordinate with the project’s contractor, observe the breaker installation and perform other supervisory tasks. Commissioner Martin Burns asked if hiring an engineering overseer was necessary for the project’s success. Hubbard explained that "the programming of the relays, which is the brains behind the circuit breaker, we don’t have anybody that is qualified or has the knowledge to do that kind of work." The Council approved the bid unanimously.
