Plumas County board asks counsel to review Engie energy project after cost, scope and local-contractor concerns

Plumas County supervisors on March 4 instructed county counsel and the county’s facilities director to review the county’s energy-savings agreement with Engie after multiple officials and members of the public raised concerns about project costs, contract scope and contractor selection.

The board’s discussion focused on the implementation phase of the “NG” energy project, which authorized LED lighting, HVAC replacements, generators and a solar array across county facilities. Facilities Director Nick Collin told the board Engie crews are replacing lighting at the courthouse annex and that plans for the solar portion have been submitted to the county’s building department. Collin and other speakers flagged concerns about high equipment and subcontractor charges, limited change-order budgeting, and generator run-time specifications that may not meet emergency needs.

The county’s auditor and treasurer said they had warned staff during earlier financing discussions and asked for more careful review. County staff presented the financing overview the board approved earlier: the project carries roughly $5.3 million in financing costs over 20 years and projected, guaranteed energy/maintenance savings presented by Engie totaling several million dollars over the life of the improvements. Supervisors and department heads questioned some of those savings projections and whether the county will realize the estimated avoided maintenance costs if units need mid-life replacement.

Supervisors and several department heads also raised the project’s procurement practices. Facilities reported some subcontractors are from outside the county rather than local firms; board members said they had expected a greater local subcontractor role. Multiple participants questioned individual line items including a near-$1.0 million LED lighting line and high quoted costs for extended generator run-time. Facilities reported the county already purchased and installed two failed HR HVAC units for roughly $24,000; Engie reduced its contract amount to reflect that expenditure but the board said the local installation cost appeared far lower than Engie’s internal pricing.

After extended public and staff discussion, Supervisor McGowan moved — and Supervisor Engle seconded — a direction to county counsel to explore options regarding the Engie contract (including cost containment or modification) and to the facilities director to produce a line-by-line recommendation of which scope items the county truly needs and which could be reduced or removed. The board asked staff to return with findings in two weeks and to share the project debt-service schedule and financing amortization with the public. The motion passed on a unanimous voice vote.

Board members emphasized they were not revisiting the board’s earlier decision to approve the project financing but said the board has an ongoing duty to ensure public funds are spent efficiently and that project implementation reflect local needs and emergency planning priorities. Several supervisors asked county counsel to also determine whether the county can limit or stop future draws under the financing and what costs the county would incur if the contract were severed for convenience.

The board also directed facilities to work with Engie and with the county’s auditor and treasurer to (a) identify change-order risk and unbudgeted exclusions, (b) document which generators and systems are mission-critical, (c) assess whether local contractors can do more of the work at lower cost, and (d) provide a complete debt-service schedule for the two financing agreements the county signed.

Next steps: county counsel and facilities staff will report back at a board meeting scheduled within two weeks with findings and cost estimates; the board asked that the presentation include the financing amortizations, the list of change-order exposures and a red-line of the Engie scope indicating recommended removals or substitutions.