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Glendale staff say Grayson repower on track for mid–late July start, despite transport delays and tariff costs
Summary
Glendale Water & Power staff reported that Wartsila engines for the Grayson repower are onsite or arriving this week, batteries were delivered early to avoid tariffs, and commercial operation is projected for mid–late July; staff said tariff impacts are roughly $10 million and overall repower-related bonds/contracts total near $500 million.
Scott Mellon, GWP project lead on the Grayson repowering, told the Glendale Water & Power Commission the first large Wartsila engine has been delivered to the site and is in an assembly tent, with additional engines arriving this week and Friday morning. Mellon said oversized transport required specially coordinated overnight moves — stopping traffic on the 134 Freeway in places — and that delivery challenges delayed milestones but were overcome.
“Projected COD commercial operation date is mid to late July,” Mellon said. He added that initial “first fires” — the staged, engine-by-engine start-up tests — are expected in June.
Mellon said the batteries were purchased and delivered earlier than planned to avoid tariff-related delays and were being stored stacked on-site pending installation. He estimated tariff-related impacts to the project were “around $10,000,000” but said earlier scheduling and vendor work helped keep overall impacts materially lower than worst-case estimates. On the larger program scale, Mellon said the repower work and related contract packages total roughly $500,000,000.
Commissioners asked for a post‑completion closeout review once the plant is operating. Mellon agreed to present a full project closeout, with budget reconciliation and lessons learned, later in the year after staff compiles final numbers and completion documentation.
Why it matters: The Grayson repowering is intended to add dispatchable generation and storage capacity to Glendale’s mix ahead of hotter summers and expected load growth. Staff characterized the work as on a compressed schedule, with testing and commissioning steps to follow before the plant can contribute to peak reliability.
What’s next: Mellon said commissioning and black‑start scenarios will be run for each engine; staff will return to the commission in the fall with a project closeout presentation that includes final costs and schedule variances.
