REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: NICHOLAS D. MASCIA, PE, Assistant City Manager
Interim Director-Capital Projects Department
BROCK D. BUCHE, PE, PLS, Director
Department of Public Utilities
BY: francisco V. magos II, PE, Assistant Director
Capital Projects Department, Utilities and On-Site Project Management Division
SAMUEL NADORES, Licensed Professional Engineer
Capital Projects Department, Utilities and On-Site Project Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the Fourth Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement with Electrical Power Systems, Inc., of Fresno, California, to revise the payment terms of the Original Agreement to be paid on a time and materials basis and to increase the total contract by an amount not to exceed $100,207, for a revised total contract amount not to exceed $351,528, paid on a time and materials basis for the Substation Expansion Project at the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility. (Council District 3)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council approve the Fourth Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement (Agreement) with Electrical Power Systems, Inc. (Consultant), to revise the payment terms of the Original Agreement to be paid on a time and materials basis and to increase the total contract by an amount not to exceed of $100,207, for a revised total contract amount not to exceed $351,528, paid on a time and materials basis, to expand the Consultant’s scope of services for the Substation Expansion Project (Project) at the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility (RWRF), and authorize the Capital Projects Director or designee to sign and execute all documents on behalf of the City of Fresno (City).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On October 26, 2018, the City approved a Consultant Services Agreement with Electrical Power Systems, Inc., to provide engineering design services for the design of plans and general construction documents for the Project. The original scope of services included design to expand the capacity of the existing substation at the RWRF to accommodate future plant expansion. The First Amendment to the Agreement expanded the original scope of services to include Consultant review of plans related to the City’s Solar Energy Project. The Second Amendment to the Agreement expanded the Consultants scope of services to include design work related to the intertie between the City’s existing Substation Expansion Project and Solar Energy Project. The Third Amendment to the Agreement included design work related to coordinating with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) on load testing, relay setting, and commissioning between the Substation Expansion Project and the Solar Energy Project.
Staff now recommends approval of the Fourth Amendment to the Agreement to revise the payment terms of the Original Agreement to be paid on a time and materials basis and to increase the total contract by an amount not to exceed $100,207, for a revised total contract amount not to exceed $351,528, paid on a time and materials basis to expand the scope of services to include engineering design to coordinate between the ongoing Solar Energy Project and the Substation Expansion Project, including coordination with PG&E to meet protection requirements for its transmission system. Approval of this amendment will ensure adequate, reliable, and redundant power source flexibility for treatment system operations at the RWRF. The Fourth Amendment to the Agreement will be funded utilizing appropriations included in the Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Improvements Budget within the Wastewater Management Division’s Sewer Enterprise Fund.
BACKGROUND
The existing substation at the RWRF was commissioned in 2001 and provides a 70 kV transmission feed from two different PG&E substations. A load study performed in late 2017 concluded that the existing substation is nearing available capacity and will not support the next major plant expansions identified in the 2005 Master Plan Update. To meet these future expansion demands for anticipated increases in plant loading due to residential and commercial growth, the City entered into an Agreement with the Consultant dated October 26, 2018, for a total fee of $177,003, with a contingency amount not to exceed $10,000, for professional engineering services for the design of the Project. The Project added an additional 70 kV to the 12 kV transformer, rated at 10 Mega Volt Amps (MVA) including the addition of a high-side circuit switcher and connection to the existing switchgear at the substation.
The First Amendment to the Agreement dated December 18, 2020, utilized $5,000 of the contingency, and increased the total contract amount to $182,003, with a remaining contingency of $5,000, to expand the scope of work to include engineering services related to the City’s Solar Energy Project at the RWRF. The additional scope of work included review of the Solar Energy Project drawings as related to the Substation Expansion Project to determine potential utility conflicts.
The Second Amendment to the Agreement dated June 10, 2022, expanded the design services to include work related to the electrical intertie between the Substation Expansion Project and the Solar Energy Project at the RWRF. The Second Amendment fully utilized the remaining contract contingency of $5,000 and increased compensation by an additional $15,242, for a total contract amount of $202,245. The expanded scope of services included design coordination between the Substation Expansion Project and the Solar Energy Project and ensured adequate, reliable, and redundant power options for uninterrupted treatment system operations.
The Third Amendment to the Agreement dated June 4, 2024, expanded the Consultant’s scope of services to include work related to coordinating with PG&E on load testing, relay settings, and commissioning between the Substation Expansion Project and the Solar Energy Project at the RWRF. The Third Amendment increased compensation by an additional $49,076, increasing the total contract amount to $251,321. The expanded scope of work focused on ensuring that the upgraded substation would be able to handle the demands of both traditional and solar power sources, protect the integrity of the transmission system and enhance operational efficiency.
This Fourth Amendment will expand the Consultant’s scope of services to include coordination with the Solar Energy Project in response to PG&E’s request for Primary Service (PS-1) information, Energization and Synchronization Requirements for Transmission Generation Entities (G5), Pre-Parallel Inspections (PPI), PG&E required Current Transformer (CT) testing for both the new and existing substation transformers, relay and electronic trip unit setting for the emergency feed and Photovoltaic (PV) breaker, assistance during PG&E’s witness testing on the new circuit switcher, assistance with the expedited Solar Energy Project commissioning using modified interlocking, and attendance at weekly Solar Energy Project coordination meetings. The scope also includes assistance with the implementation of an interim protective relay monitoring system, and a white paper analysis for a long-term Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) solution for the Foreseer system. Additionally, the Consultant will compile required maintenance documentation for the Substation systems, update electrical drawings, and assemble relevant manuals and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) drawings.
Staff now recommends approval of the Fourth Amendment to the Agreement to revise the payment terms of the Original Agreement to be paid on a time and materials basis and to increase the total contract by an amount not to exceed $100,207, increasing the total contract to an amount not to exceed $351,528, paid on a time and materials basis; and authorization of the Capital Projects Interim Director or designee to sign the Fourth Amendment on behalf of the City. The Fourth Amendment to the Agreement will be funded utilizing appropriations included in the Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Improvements Budget within the Wastewater Management Division’s Sewer Enterprise Fund.
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed and approved the proposed Amendment as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, the amendment of this consultant services agreement for design services does not qualify as a “project” for the purpose of CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference does not apply to this action because this is an amendment to an existing consultant services agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed Project is located in Council District 3 and has no impact to the General Fund. Funding for this Project is included in the Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Improvement Budget within the Wastewater Management Division’s Sewer Enterprise Fund.
Attachments:
Fourth Amendment to Agreement
Third Amendment to Agreement
Second Amendment to Agreement
First Amendment to Agreement
Original Consultant Agreement
Vicinity Map
Location Map