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City utility staff: engine No. 8 still offline, costing about $30,000 a month
Summary
City utility staff told the Bristol City Council that the outage of generation engine No. 8 has led to roughly $30,000 per month in lost IMEA credits, with repair options including sourcing an engine block or metal repair; staff said IMEA has signaled it may deny lost‑revenue credits and the city is seeking written confirmation to pursue an insurance claim.
Jeff Langridge, invited to brief the Bristol City Council, said the city’s generation engine No. 8 remains offline and that progress on repairs has been "frustratingly slow." Langridge told the council he provided a timeline handout and described two repair paths: sourcing a replacement engine block (an option in Florida) or performing a metal-repair procedure that would cut and stitch a new section into the liner if the block option fails.
The council heard that the city is incurring monthly credits lost through IMEA tied to engine output. "Just slightly over 30,000 a month," Langridge said when asked how large the hit is. He calculated that if the outage continued for about a year the city could face roughly $360,000 in lost credits. Langridge said he has been pursuing confirmation from IMEA and expects a written denial of lost-revenue credits before taking the matter to the city’s insurance provider.
Langridge described ongoing technical work on the suspected failed liner: the component has been at a metallurgist for multiple tests (visual, magnetic and others) and only one of about a dozen tests had returned after several weeks, which he said has slowed the repair timeline. Separately, Langridge said engine No. 1 — a separate unit that was taken out of service for repairs — is being reassembled and staff hope it will be back online in early to mid‑April; that outage was treated as scheduled and is not producing penalties.
Council members asked about budget options to cover the revenue loss. Staff noted a certificate of deposit and utility reserves are available but said they prefer not to draw them down without examining the full budget picture. Langridge said the city will seek a written denial from IMEA and then present the denial to the city’s insurance carrier if necessary.
Council members also received a brief status on the municipal solar array: tracking problems have been corrected and output varies with sunlight; speakers gave rough estimates that on a good day solar could approach about 1 megawatt, though speakers clarified the figure depends on conditions.
What’s next: staff will continue metallurgical testing, pursue written confirmation from IMEA about the lost‑revenue credit decision, and then advise the city on whether to file an insurance claim or temporarily draw reserves. Council members expressed interest in being notified of definitive outcomes and timelines.
