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Commission acknowledges new contractor for Progress Parkway gas main after original bidder backs out
Summary
The utility commission awarded a $114,283.32 quote for the Progress Parkway gas main to AEI after the originally approved bidder, LP Contracting, withdrew; the commission later voted to rescind the prior award and ratified AEI’s award unanimously.
The Virginia Public Utilities commission on May 28 voted unanimously to accept a new quote from AEI to complete the Progress Parkway gas main project after the initially approved bidder, LP Contracting, withdrew.
At the meeting, Greg, a utility staff member, said, “At our last meeting, we approved a bid to LP Contracting, for that gas main project in the amount of a hundred and $23,073.80. The engineers went to move forward with them. They backed out of the bid.” He told commissioners the commission could solicit quotes because the project fell under the commission’s mandated $175,000 bidding threshold and staff sent requests to three firms. Greg said AEI quoted $114,283.32 and began work because of MnDOT timeline requirements.
The commission first voted to acknowledge AEI’s award and then voted to rescind the earlier approval of LP Contracting’s bid; both motions carried unanimously. No individual mover or seconder names were recorded on the audio transcript.
Why it matters: awarding the lower quote allowed the project to proceed without an extended rebidding process while meeting external schedule constraints cited by staff. The commission recorded both the ratification of AEI’s quote and the formal rescission of the prior award in open session.
Details: staff reported the originally approved bid amount was $123,073.80; AEI’s accepted quote was $114,283.32. Staff said AEI had previously performed multiple gas projects for the utility. The meeting record attributes the timeline pressure to MnDOT (the Minnesota Department of Transportation).
The commission did not record written objections during the discussion. Commissioners voted “aye” on both the award acknowledgment and the rescission, and minutes show both motions carried unanimously. The commission did not specify a distinct implementation timeline in the discussion beyond the work having started and the MnDOT-related schedule pressure.
