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Board hears updates on substations, AMI rollout, turbine delay and a $7 million spare rotor purchase
Summary
Staff updated the board on transmission pulls and substation work, an AMI meter rollout, delays to a PAC steam turbine with an expected July arrival, and the approved purchase of a roughly $7 million spare rotor to shorten future outage recovery time.
At the meeting staff provided a broad infrastructure and generation update that covered transmission-line pulls, substation work, AMI meter conversions, procurement for a natural-gas project and a delayed steam-turbine repair.
Rick (staff member) reviewed progress on a transmission project from Main Street toward the substation, noting main conductors and optical fiber pulls are largely complete and that a switch east of Main Street is now energized up to one side. He said crews expect the substation itself to be energized by mid‑next year after remaining steel stacking and installation work.
On metering, staff reported about 2,730 AMI meters have been installed so far and another 700–800 changes are expected in the next month; crews replace meters where staff are already responding for outages or service work and can install roughly 150–250 meters per day in a focused swath.
The board heard that the PAC steam-turbine repair has been delayed; staff said the part is due to arrive on site July 17 with roughly two weeks for reinstallation, which would push full availability into August. To reduce future downtime risk, the utility approved purchasing a spare rotor at about $7 million with a fabrication lead time of more than two years. Officials also noted they had secured business-interruption insurance for related projects.
Staff updated the board that long-lead materials (transformers, engines, breakers) for the Millard County natural-gas project were approved for purchase to lock core costs amid inflation and tariff concerns. They also reported nominal runs on the Bale project because Kern River is not compressing gas and that some projects are paused pending EDAM outcomes.
No formal policy decisions were made on these capital and procurement matters during the meeting; staff said they will report procurement results and the turbine-installation timeline at future meetings.
