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Washington City Power Board hears operations update after March load spikes to 29.75 MW
Summary
At its April meeting the Washington City Power Board received an operations report that said March’s peak reached 29.75 megawatts — about 42% above last year’s March peak — and heard updates on generator readiness, transmission work, AMI meter deployment and several projects; routine agenda items were approved.
The Washington City Power Board met in April and received a detailed generation and operations briefing from staff, who reported a sharp early‑season load spike and outlined preparations for the summer run season.
Rick, the utility operations presenter, said the system’s March peak reached 29.75 megawatts — about 42% higher than the prior March peak of roughly 21 megawatts. "Our March peak was just under 30 megawatts at 29.75 megawatts, which is 42% higher than our previous March peak," Rick said, noting the board's load closely follows temperature and air‑conditioning demand.
The briefing covered near‑term operational work. Staff are preparing generators for the summer run season and have scheduled gas service to begin June 1; updates to relay controls and new control boxes are underway, and some equipment is partially disassembled for wiring work. Rick told the board crews hope to complete relay and control updates by the end of the month but said actual run timing will depend on May weather.
Board members were also briefed on transmission and substation work along the Parkway. Most poles have been set on the segment between Main Street and the planned substation site, and staff said wire‑pulling (including OPGW fiber) is planned around April 20. Rick said contractors had left the right‑of‑way restored after pole setting.
On metering and customer systems, staff reported AMI deployment has reached roughly 2,200 meters, about 18% of the system. The utility plans to change out approximately 400–500 meters per month, subject to other work demands. "We're just a little bit over 2,200 meters right now deployed," Rick said.
Project updates included: transformer and breaker specifications for the Central St. George project being sent for review and expected to go out to bid in May or June; the Nebo plant’s steam turbine remains out for major repairs with a likely return to service in early July after rotor and blade work; and progress on a federal Build‑America materials review for a Yuri area rebuild project, for which the utility has submitted waiver documentation and awaits federal review before ordering remaining materials.
Rick also summarized regional partner activity: UAMPS (Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems) events and workshops (a toolkit workshop on April 22 and the annual member conference Aug. 23–25 in Logan were noted), an amended pooling agreement approved by the city council March 25, and early uncertainty about the new Extended Day‑Ahead Market (EDAM) starting May 1 and how it will affect procurement and costs.
On renewables and distributed‑energy issues, staff said a small number of solar applications in March were for additions to existing systems (batteries or panels rather than new locations), that one fiber provider has signed a poles agreement, and that officials continue to evaluate battery additions at an available site to increase dispatchable resources under EDAM. Rick also reported typical seasonal performance for wind and solar and noted the region’s constrained hydropower outlook.
No substantive public comment or contested votes occurred during the meeting. The board approved the meeting agenda and the previous meeting’s minutes by voice vote and later moved to adjourn.
The board adjourned after brief closing remarks and expressions of condolence for a recently deceased colleague; staff said they would circulate details about a celebration of life.
