REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
April 22, 2021
FROM: MICHAEL CARBAJAL, Director
Department of Public Utilities
THROUGH: BROCK D. BUCHE, PE, PLS, Assistant Director - UP&E
Department of Public Utilities - Utilities Planning & Engineering
BY: SAMUEL NADORES, Professional Engineer
Department of Public Utilities - Utilities Planning & Engineering
SUBJECT
Title
Reject the sole bid received for the Substation Expansion project at the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Bid File 3736) (Council District 3)
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that City Council reject the bid proposal received for the Substation Expansion at the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Facility) (Project) and direct staff to rebid the project.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Department of Public Utilities, Wastewater Management Division, seeks to expand the electrical substation that serves the Facility as the load on the existing transformer has reached a level where an expansion in electrical service capabilities is required. The single received bid proposal was 30.6% higher than the engineer's estimate. Staff therefore recommends rejection of the single received bid for the Project.
BACKGROUND
Prior to commissioning the existing substation, the Facility was fed from two separate electrical 12 Kilovolt (KV) distribution feeds from PG&E. These distribution services are limited as they are shared with surrounding users within a several mile radius and limits the power available to the Facility. Distribution service is also less reliable and more susceptible to power swings and dips which can knock equipment offline or lose the source altogether for an unpredictable period of time. In 2001 the decision was made to provide the Facility with a dedicated substation to exclusively serve the growing power needs of the Facility.
Phase 1 of the substation Project provided a 70KV transmission feed from two different PG&E substations. The higher vol...
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