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LAWA moves forward with full electrical supply plan for water treatment plant; board approves interconnect study
Summary
The authority's technical advisory committee recommended and the board approved pursuing full electrical service for the treatment plant (estimated 11 MW capacity), favoring a Western Area Power Administration interconnect study over local-only generation because of lower life‑cycle cost and higher reliability.
The Lake Agassiz Water Authority voted to pursue full electrical service for the planned treatment plant and to initiate the interconnect and application work needed to secure power allocations.
The technical advisory committee reviewed three options for delivering power to the treatment plant: (1) full electrical service via Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) and local interconnect (50‑year life‑cycle cost estimate $68 million), (2) reduced local service supplemented with on‑site generators (LCC ~$93 million), and (3) fully on‑site generation requiring fuel delivery infrastructure (LCC ~$127 million). Based on capital cost and reliability, the committee recommended option 1.
Paul (presenter) and TAC chair Al Grasser explained that option 1 offers the lowest life-cycle cost and higher reliability; staff recommended initiating interconnect studies and the multi-year process to secure service contracts and allocations from WAPA and local utilities. Board members asked about redundancy, direct WAPA allocations versus routing through cooperatives, and the long lead time for transformers; staff said redundancy would be part of the study and that a $3 million placeholder for potential transformer pre‑funding had been included in the work plan contingency.
The board moved and approved the recommendation to proceed with the interconnect study and to pursue WAPA/Central Power/local cooperative coordination by roll call.
Why it matters: Securing reliable, long-term power for the treatment plant is critical to operation and influences capital and life-cycle costs. The decision to pursue WAPA interconnect study sets in motion a multi-year procurement and permitting process that carries significant capital implications.
What’s next: Staff will initiate the interconnect study, pursue WAPA allocation pathways, and return with the study results and contract documents needed for long-term power procurement.
Direct quotes
"Our preferred option... full electrical service, is also the most cost competitive both on a capital cost and a life cycle cost," a presenter said of the WAPA option.
Ending
The board authorized staff to begin detailed interconnect and allocation work with WAPA, Central Power and the local cooperative; further decisions will follow the study results.
