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Board approves Abiquiu hydro plant firewall and office project after cost increase
Summary
The Board of Public Utilities voted 5-0 to recommend a task order awarding the Abiquiu Hydroelectric Plant firewall and office renovation to GME General Building LLC after staff said the project came in about $59,000 over the originally budgeted amount; staff proposed using a portion of El Vado penstock bypass valve funds to cover the gap.
The Board of Public Utilities voted unanimously on May 21 to recommend award of task order AGR22-18C for the Abiquiu Hydroelectric Plant firewall and office project to GME General Building LLC and to forward the contract to county council for final approval.
The project had been budgeted in fiscal 2025 at $350,000, but staff reported a final project cost of $409,207.95, including gross receipts tax, and said about $53,000 additional funding was required to complete the work. Staff proposed using part of an existing CIP allocation for an El Vado penstock bypass valve—$95,000 in the CIP—by shifting roughly $59,207 from that line item to the Abiquiu project so work can proceed while the El Vado project is deferred.
Why it matters: staff described the work as a fire-safety mitigation and workspace improvement after an electrical failure and arc-flash incident at the Abiquiu facility last year. The chosen mitigation approach uses two overlapping layers of 5/8-inch gypsum board on the exterior wall and includes an interior concrete pad, restroom additions, and modest admin-space additions for staff who work at the plant.
Board discussion focused on causes of the overrun, alternatives and timing. James Martinez, filling in for James Allerut and presenting the item for utility staff, said the price increase was driven primarily by the addition of a reinforced concrete pad required for safe deliveries and equipment staging; that pad alone added roughly $64,000 to costs. Martinez said staff solicited additional bids from on-call contractors but received only one responsive bid (GME). He also said StarTech, the loss-prevention firm that did the site review, recommended three mitigation options and staff selected the gypsum-board option as least costly and practicable compared with moving a transformer or building a concrete barrier wall.
Board member Eric asked whether the plant transformer used mineral oil or an FR3 (vegetable) dielectric fluid; Martinez said he believed it was mineral oil but was not certain. Board members asked about rebudgeting and timing for the El Vado penstock project; staff said the El Vado work can be deferred and rebudgeted in FY27, and that the cost of operation and maintenance is passed through under the electric coordination agreement (ECA) and would be reflected in future budgets.
The motion presented to the board recommended awarding the task order to GME General Building LLC and noted a contingency amount to cover the overrun; the roll call vote was 5-0 in favor.
The board and staff also discussed the difficulty of getting on-call contractors to respond to bids and whether project budgeting should include larger contingencies to reflect volatile materials and concrete costs.
Ending: The board approved forwarding the task order and associated funding adjustments to county council for final action. Staff said they would rebudget the postponed El Vado penstock project into a later fiscal year and pursue a condition assessment to evaluate other plant systems at Abiquiu and El Vado.
