PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles City Council will hear tonight a recommendation to buy a new electrical transformer for $577,718 to restore service from the Washington Street substation.
The substation was shut down by a transmission-line lightning strike
July 13.
Power was quickly rerouted to the 900 northeast Port Angeles customers served by the substation near Civic Field.
But earlier this month, the City Council, looking ahead to peak winter demand, unanimously ratified an emergency declaration signed by City Manager Dan McKeen to expedite purchase or replacement of the transformer without competitive bidding.
The substation accounts for 14 percent of the system’s capacity and is critical for providing power to northeast Port Angeles, including Olympic Medical Center and the city’s wastewater treatment plant, Public Works & Utilities Director Glenn Cutler has said.
Cutler will present a recommendation for buying a new transformer for the substation when the council meets at 6 p.m. in its chambers at City Hall, 321 E. Fifth St.
The 12 megavolt-amperes — or MVA — transformer would be purchased from Virginia Transformer Co.
Estimated delivery time would be 18 weeks, according to Cutler’s memo to the City Council.
The recommendation is one of three options. The other two are to rebuild the existing transformer or buy a used one.
Rebuilding the transformer would cost nearly as much as buying a new one, Cutler said in the memo.
Only one used transformer was found, and it comes with risks that “do not justify the savings in time and delivery,” Cutler said.
Additional costs are anticipated for setup and temporary backup provisions, Cutler said, adding that most costs are expected to be covered by insurance.