Public Utilities Board approves sale and removal of obsolete substation transformers

The Denton Public Utilities Board voted unanimously Feb. 9 to approve a disposal sale allowing a contractor to remove and scrap several large substation transformers, some of which are no longer compatible with the utility’s system.

Chris Lutrick, executive manager of operations for DME, told the board the units include about a dozen 69‑kV transformers that are obsolete for Denton’s system and a number of 138‑to‑69 autotransformers that have reached the end of their service life. "They're paying us that," Lutrick said when explaining the bid tabulation; he later characterized the payment as roughly $402,000 for the scrap value and the contractor's work to drain oil, load and haul the units away.

Lutrick said some units cannot be reused for safety and liability reasons: one transformer's sister unit had failed elsewhere and caused fatalities, and the city has required that particular model be scrapped rather than resold or reused. The company selected will drain oil on‑site, load the roughly 50‑ton units onto trailers and remove them from Denton utility property.

A board member moved approval after the item was pulled for discussion; the board approved the motion on a voice vote with no recorded roll call.

The board handled the item as part of the consent agenda; staff did not provide a detailed scoring sheet in the meeting backup, only the bid tabulation, which prompted board questions about selection criteria and payment. Staff said the highest bid reflected the contractor paying for scrap metal value and performing all removal work.

The board approved the consent agenda item and moved on to other business.