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Power crews face hard rock drilling, foundations and substation prep; SCADA and generator repairs underway
Summary
Line crews reported difficult drilling conditions for new pole foundations, prompting possible contract drilling, and described work on 2800 West and foundation costs. Staff also updated the board on generator repairs, a SCADA server replacement and preparations for the Skymount substation; staff said a local property owner agreed to an easement-al
Line construction and foundation work took the bulk of operations discussion at the meeting as staff described difficult geology and related schedule impacts.
"The majority of our time we spend on 1,100 West digging holes and setting holes. ... 1 of the holes took us 3 days," said Brian (staff), describing auger/hammer challenges as crews encountered very hard ground. Brian said some holes require hammering and hand removal and that remaining holes may require contracting out drilling because the city's equipment is not sufficient for deep rock.
On 2800 West Brian said crews prepared pads and await an agreement from the Richardson family to move the route off private property: "they've agreed they're gonna pay the difference of what it would cost because we was gonna go right straight through their property." That change in routing delayed driller scheduling; staff now expects drilling in September but said the timing depends on getting the signed agreement.
Board members asked about foundation costs. Brian estimated the cost for two foundations and an additional drilled hole at roughly $162,000 and said one quote had approached nearly $200,000 per pole earlier in the process. He described foundation sizes: some foundations are about 15'16 feet deep and 7-foot diameter, while another foundation (Pole 18) was described as approximately 35 feet deep and 8-foot diameter.
Substation and equipment updates
Mike Johns updated the board that the city returned a grant review for the 600 North transmission upgrade and expects the grant paperwork to be finalized in the coming weeks so material ordering can start. He also showed the board a project phase map and located the planned 69 kV loop and substation site.
Jared (systems staff) reported ongoing generator and SCADA work. He said a fan motor failure on Generator 8 required cannibalizing parts from Generator 1 to restore service and that the utility placed bearings on a fan prior to the failure. Jared said staff upgraded the SCADA server and migrated software with outside assistance; the new server is in place and the migration is "step 1" toward a fuller SCADA upgrade.
Fleet and other work
Crews assisted service work on subdivisions and temporarily shifted equipment to clear driveway access for a local apartment project; Tri State assisted a Sunday outage. Fleet maintenance included replacing bucket teeth, hammer parts and addressing an air-line leak in a bucket truck.
Why it matters: Foundation and drilling difficulties can materially delay pole and line builds, increase costs and require contracting outside the city's usual crews. Grant-funded transmission work (600 North) and substation siting influence where and when new capacity becomes available.
What's next: Staff will pursue the Richardson easement agreement to permit the alternate route, schedule drilling once the agreement is signed, order materials after the 600 North grant is finalized and continue SCADA and generator repairs.
