Port proposes substation move and change-order authority increase; vendor flagged reliability concerns
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Summary
Port staff proposed moving a gantry-crane power substation to the North Extension, integrating battery storage and seeking increased change-order authority (~$20.68M additional) for added cabling and BESS integration; a PAB member dissented over reliability concerns related to cable distance and junctions, and staff said they are working with the vendor to resolve issues before the Jan. 27 assembly vote.
Port program staff presented two items related to the Port of Alaska modernization: (1) adding a North Extension helipad paid with excess Port Infrastructure Development Program funds and (2) moving a gantry-crane electrical substation to the North Extension site alongside a request to increase change-order authority for the substation contract.
Eric Adams, Port program manager, said the North Extension helipad and access road would be funded with leftover PIDP/DCIP funds from a previous $68.7M award and estimated the helipad project at roughly $3.6M. "The remaining funds on that will cover this approximately $3,600,000 project," Adams said.
On the electrical substation, Adams told the committee the selected North Extension location would add about 3,400 feet of cabling and require trenching and precast duct work. The port asked for additional change-order authority (presented as approximately $20.68M) to cover the relocation, BESS integration and other items; the combined not-to-exceed contract amount with authority would be roughly $48.9M. Adams said a DCIP grant will purchase batteries that yield an approximate $1.4M contract credit and that the port plans a future buildout of BESS to about 100 megawatts.
A Port Advisory Board (PAB) member voted against the relocation citing vendor reliability concerns tied to increased cable length and multiple junctions. Committee members pressed staff on those concerns; port staff said they are meeting weekly with the dissenting vendor and electrical engineers and plan to resolve the issues before the assembly meeting scheduled for Jan. 27. Adams noted some critical components have long lead times — "about 100 week lead time on these transformers" — and tied the substation schedule to the Terminal 1 crane delivery date of Aug. 15, 2028.
Funding and project sequencing questions were raised by members who asked whether the change order would displace other modernization work. Port staff said the requested funds are tied to state matching grants and said moving the substation could produce cost savings for future Terminal 2 work, though Terminal 2 remains at an early design stage.
Next steps: the port will continue weekly coordination with the dissenting vendor, circulate updates to committee members and bring the change-order authority request and helipad proposal to the full assembly for consideration on Jan. 27.