Power board recommends UAMPS bonds to fund Central St. George transformer upgrades

The Washington City Power Board voted June 3 to recommend that the City Council approve a resolution authorizing Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) to issue bonds to finance upgrades to the Central St. George transmission project, including new and replacement transformers at several substations.

Board members heard from utility staff that the work responds to higher summer loads and the need for additional transformer capacity to preserve service if a transformer is lost. The board’s recommendation authorizes UAMPS bonding to support a roughly five‑year program of work that staff said would include installing a second transformer at the Green Valley substation, buying two new transformers for the River substation, and moving two existing River transformers to the Skyline substation. The staff presentation said the immediate, equipment‑driven costs for transformer work are about $26 million and that transformer lead times are currently about 2½–3 years, so staff recommended starting procurement now.

Why it matters: Staff said the system needs the added transformer capacity so the utility can serve summer peak demand if a transformer is out of service. The board was told lead times for the larger transformers and the need to coordinate seasonal outages mean the work must be scheduled over several years and financed in stages.

Staff overview and financing plan Utility staff described the project as a long‑running, multi‑jurisdictional effort that traces back to studies of transformation capacity at River, Skyline and Green Valley substations. Staff said the overall work will include transformer purchases and pads with containment, breaker upgrades, and some transmission reconductoring and short reroutes in the Santa Clara area. In addition to the transformer work, staff identified a possible reconductoring of the St. George–River transmission line and a small reroute near Santa Clara that could add to the scope and cost.

Staff asked UAMPS to break the work into smaller financings because of long lead times for transformers. The board was told an initial bond series would cover about $15 million of the estimated transformer work and a second series would follow as the project progresses. The measure before the board would raise the project authorization in Exhibit C of the transmission service agreement from $64 million (cumulative authorization) to $100 million (cumulative), allowing subsequent components to proceed without returning to the board for each change.

Allocation and schedule Utility staff said the cost allocation among participating members is roughly proportional to load: Washington City’s share was described as about 15 percent, St. George about 60–65 percent, Hurricane about 15 percent and Santa Clara roughly 6–10 percent in staff comments. Staff also said the work must be done largely in off‑season windows because construction requires taking equipment or entire substations temporarily out of service.

Next steps and council review Board members were told the staff recommendation and the resolution would be forwarded to the City Council; staff said they planned to appear before council on June 25 with the board’s recommendation included in the briefing packet. The resolution, if approved by the council and the other participating jurisdictions, would allow UAMPS to proceed with design, ordering of long‑lead transformers, and staged bond financing.

Board action and vote A board member moved the recommendation and another board member seconded. The board recorded aye votes from Saunderson (Saunders), Spriggs and Densmore; no no‑votes were recorded in the meeting transcript and the motion passed. The board’s recorded action was a recommendation that the City Council approve amendments to the transmission service agreement for the Central St. George transmission project and authorize issuance of bonds by UAMPS to finance the upgrades.

What the board did not decide The board’s vote was a recommendation to the City Council; it did not itself authorize bond issuance beyond the recommendation. Exact bond terms, final project scope adjustments and timing of a second bond series were not set at the meeting and will depend on later design, procurement and approvals by the participating cities and UAMPS.

Ending: Staff said they will provide the City Council briefing and a reminder to the board before the June 25 council meeting so board members can attend if they have questions for staff.