Port of Anchorage staff told the Infrastructure, Enterprise and Utility Oversight Committee on May 31 that they have broken out a new electrical substation as a separate design‑build project to supply power for three ship‑to‑shore cranes at the new Terminal 1, have received three responsive proposals within an engineer’s $30 million estimate, and are in negotiations with the preferred proposer with the intent to seek assembly contract approval on June 10.

Port Director Steve Rebuffel and engineering manager John Daly said the project is fully funded by a State of Alaska grant and will require long‑lead electrical equipment such as large transformers and switchgear. John Daly said many items face multi‑year lead times and that the schedule calls for design and ordering of long‑lead items in 2025, site work and underground conduit in 2026, arrival and installation of major equipment in 2027–2028 and a planned completion date of July 2028 with cranes arriving in August 2028.

Committee members raised schedule and liability concerns. Assembly member Christopher Constance asked whether a delay in substation completion could expose the municipality to damages if cranes or other terminal work are ready before power; port staff acknowledged the risk and said contract documents include schedule terms that allocate risk between multiple parties. Port staff also said Terminal 1 procurement strategy is being revisited and that Madison (the terminal contractor/owner representative referenced in discussion) is exploring used cranes versus new units; those procurement changes could shift liability and delivery timing and are a subject of ongoing negotiation.

Port staff said they selected a proposer through a design‑build solicitation that weighed quality and cost, that negotiations are underway and that municipal purchasing rules prevent release of the proposer name until contract signing. They said the substation’s base site is adjacent to the port administration building but that the design‑build team will study an alternative north‑end site that may reduce operational conflicts and preserve multi‑use parking and staging space.

In other port planning, staff said they intend to seek approval for a battery energy storage system funded by a Department of Defense Defense Community Infrastructure Program grant as a step toward operational resilience in a major power outage; staff described the battery project as a separate but related step in port power independence.

No assembly contract was approved at the May 31 committee meeting; port staff expect to present a fully negotiated contract for assembly action on June 10. Staff warned that schedule slips on long‑lead items or changes to crane procurement could create cost or liability exposure that must be addressed in contract terms before final award.

Clarifying details from the meeting: engineering estimate for the substation was about $30,000,000 and the project is funded by a State of Alaska grant; staff reported three responsive design‑build proposals within the estimate, and schedule milestones include ordering long‑lead items in 2025 and a target project completion in July 2028 with cranes in August 2028.