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Council approves replacement of aging substation PLC system after staff warns of monitoring failures
Summary
The council approved replacing the substation PLC/relay/SCADA system after Electric Director John Wick reported faulty meters and an aged PLC that limits monitoring; staff provided cost and timing estimates and named PMG Engineering as the recommended contractor.
Electric Director John Wick told the council technicians found inaccurate control-house readings at the substation and that relay-mounted instruments preserved accurate load data. A consultant from PMG Engineering, Jason Van Heck, identified failing components and recommended upgrading the relay and SCADA systems rather than piecemeal replacements.
"Our current system is maxed out. We cannot receive any more information from the substation," Wick said, urging a modernization that would allow the city to pull detailed diagnostic data from relays on each breaker.
Wick provided ballpark cost estimates: individual part replacements could range in lower amounts, four failed meters were about $5,000 each, a PLC/SCADA enhancement was in the $20,000–$30,000 range, a more complete replacement was in the $60,000–$70,000 ballpark, and a full upgrade was quoted at about $92,000. He said the parts are becoming harder to obtain and that the upgrade would provide updated one-line diagrams, training, and longer-term interoperability.
Council members asked about timing and safety. Wick said there was no immediate risk of power loss but that the city currently lacked some monitoring that could warn of future failures; he estimated 23–30 days to acquire equipment and about two weeks to install.
Council member Schwear moved to replace the substation PLC system; Council member McKenzie seconded. The motion passed on a voice vote.
PMG Engineering (represented by Jason Van Heck) was reported as the lowest recommended bidder. Council discussion noted the system has served for decades and that upgrading now could prevent harder-to-solve failures later.
