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Staff reports: new electrical engineer, AMI rollout and substation work
Summary
Staff told the Power Board the department hired electrical engineer Alex Farnsworth (starting Feb. 23), is installing AMI gateways in advance of meter replacements, and awarded a civil substation bid to Diamond W Construction pending contract signature.
Staff updates at the Power Board meeting covered hiring, equipment and ongoing infrastructure work.
Speaker 2 announced the department hired an electrical engineer, Alex Farnsworth, who is expected to start on Feb. 23; staff said the role fills a long‑standing need. Speaker 2 also showed board members a map and described the plan to install AMI gateways ahead of meter replacements so the network is ready to connect new meters and support future customer options such as time‑of‑use pricing.
Operations staff (Speaker 6) reported a major rebuild of generator 8 (main bearings and cylinder packs), a sequence of urea pump failures that required replacement parts, truck repairs and other fleet maintenance. Speaker 6 said the city received a civil bid award for substation work (Diamond W Construction) and expected the signed contract back for city signature shortly. The board also heard about bird‑mitigation work at a substation with an estimated cost of about $72,000.
These operational updates preceded the board’s longer discussion of pooling, EDAM and rate design.
