Riverside utilities board awards $14.9 million transformer contract for two substation projects

The Riverside Board of Public Utilities on Aug. 10 awarded a $14,878,322 contract to Delta Star Inc. of San Carlos for three power transformers to be installed at substations, according to the board's minutes.

The vote was unanimous, with board member Jordan Wright absent. Board member Christian Cruz made the motion and Mikael Becker seconded it.

With a 10% change-order allowance of $1,487,832, the Delta Star purchase is capped at $16,366,154.

In the same motion, the board awarded a $1,587,980 bid to One Source Supply Solutions of San Diego. A staff report says that purchase covers nine circuit breakers plus two transformers for station service. Its cap, including a 10% allowance, is $1,746,778.

Two substations

The equipment is for two projects in the utility's five-year capital plan: an expansion of the Harvey Lynn Substation and the addition of a transformer bank at the Riverside Substation.

The board approved work orders of $14,042,000 for Harvey Lynn and $6,327,972 for the Riverside Substation. The staff report puts the combined fiscal impact at $20,369,972, paid from the Electric Fund's capital account.

According to the staff report, Harvey Lynn serves about 24,000 customers and was commissioned in 1965. Several of its transformers are overloaded, the report says, and two of its transformer banks date back more than 60 years.

Two new 45 MVA transformers there would add about 40 megawatts of capacity, the report says.

The Riverside Substation serves about 10,000 customers. The report says two transformers installed there in 1960 are in poor condition and must be retired as the utility converts its 4-kilovolt distribution system to 12 kilovolts. A new 33 MVA transformer would take over that load.

Bids and total cost

Six vendors were invited to bid on the transformers and two responded, the staff report says. Delta Star's bid was the lower of the two; Pennsylvania Transformer Technology Inc. bid $15,175,278. The engineer's estimate was $16 million.

The work orders approved Aug. 10 cover equipment, engineering design and project management only. Staff estimated the final cost at $28,809,439 for the Harvey Lynn project and $13,429,172 for the Riverside Substation project, and said it would return to the board for switchgear purchases, construction labor and testing.

The report lists an anticipated start of September 2026, with the Harvey Lynn work lasting 44 months and the Riverside Substation work 42 months.

Separately, the board voted unanimously to extend the utility's Service Lateral Replacement Program by three years, through fiscal 2028-29, at $350,000 a year.

The board met at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall and adjourned at 8 p.m., the minutes show.