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Commission approves five‑year Novospec support plan; staff to clarify billing and training inclusions
Summary
The PUC approved a five‑year, time‑and‑materials support plan with Novospec and asked staff to obtain written confirmation that cross‑training and engineering support are included in the scope and that invoicing will be monthly rather than as a single upfront amount.
The Hibbing Public Utilities Commission approved a five‑year support plan and 2025 service agreement with Novospec at its Feb. 25 meeting.
General Manager Luke Peterson told commissioners the five‑year plan provides the most favorable long‑term support pricing Novospec offers and reflects a move away from a model of prepaid annual hours. Novospec will provide time‑and‑materials engineering and controls support, project‑specific assistance tied to capital projects and on‑call services. Peterson emphasized that, despite budget figures shown in the packet (including a $187,000 figure in a sample payment schedule), Novospec will invoice monthly for work completed and staff will not approve an upfront invoice for $187,000.
Commissioners asked whether Novospec would provide cross‑training for staff and help address the utility’s understaffing and technical training needs. Peterson and the commission indicated that training, equipment tuning and automation support were part of the envisioned engineering‑support tasks; Peterson said he would seek written confirmation from Novospec that cross‑training and the specified engineering support items are included in the scope and pricing presented.
The commission approved the support plan by voice vote. Peterson said he had communicated with Novospec leadership and that Novospec personnel planned to join the meeting if possible; he also noted that certain support terms in the proposal had expired but that Novospec had confirmed the proposal remained valid for the commission action. Commissioners asked staff to request written confirmation from Novospec detailing training deliverables and monthly invoicing procedures.
