Council committee approves $500,827 contract for microgrid design to bolster critical facility resilience

The Public Works and Utilities Committee on Monday approved a professional services agreement with Year Out Energy Services LLC d/b/a Energy Systems Group Southwest for an investment-grade audit and microgrid design, authorizing $500,827 including NMGRT for an 18‑month term.

City staff described the project as a planning and design step that would identify critical facilities that would benefit from additional on-site generation, batteries and control logic to create microgrids that can operate during outages or disconnect from the grid.

"This project builds on the city's significant solar resources they already have installed, over 6 megawatts," Director Wheeler said, describing prior solar work and saying the design contract will inform site-level decisions about batteries, controls and possible supplemental generators. Kyle Morgan, interim director of emergency management, said the effort grew out of the city’s 2020 hazard mitigation plan and the goal of keeping water, wastewater and shelter operations functioning during outages.

Staff said the planning effort was to identify where batteries and controls could both keep critical services running during outages and reduce peak demand charges when connected to the grid. Wheeler said Year Out Energy already worked on the city’s recent solar expansion and that familiarity allowed the contractor to offer a discounted fee; Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) procurement reviewed and certified the vendor selection for the grant-funded scope.

Funding context: staff said the planning work is funded from a FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) award; the BRIC program is no longer accepting new applications nationally, but the city’s BRIC funds are encumbered and can be used for the planning contract. Wheeler and Morgan said BRIC funding had been expected to cover a larger share of eventual construction, but other grants and incentives will be pursued for build-out.

The committee voted to approve the agreement by roll call (Romero Wirth: Yes; Lee Garcia: Yes; Castro: Yes; Chair Chavez: Yes). Councilor Michael Garcia had left the meeting before the vote. Staff said the design and audit work will inform future capital requests and grant applications for construction of microgrids at identified facilities.