Board takes substation transformer bids

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST

August 01, 2006 09:32 pm

— Is this thing on?
Work on the new electric substation that will power the Nestle Corp. factory and distribution center began Monday as the Anderson Board of Public Works took bids for two substation transformers.
“This is just the start of the equipment we’re going to buy,” Anderson Municipal Light & Power Superintendent Tom Donoho said.
The substation will be located at the northwest corner of County Roads 475 South and 350 West, near the Flagship Enterprise Center and business park.
The two substation transformers will each handle 25,000 kilo-volt amp, enough to light one-quarter million 100-watt light bulbs.
The four bids ranged from a low of $1.34 million from Washington, Mo.-based Pauwels to a high of $1.7 million from Kulman Electric out of Versailles, Ky. (or 849,377 per unit).
Donoho confessed some confusion over the bid prices since three companies bid a number assumed to be the price of one transformer instead of two.
Part of the necessity for the new substation comes from Nestle’s need for a “double feed” or power from two sources.
The substation will also provide power to other businesses that may choose to locate in the park.
“We see a real benefit, both on the short run helping Nestle, and in the potential new growth that could be coming in the future,” Board of Public Works Chairman Rob Sparks said.
Eventually, the substation will cost about $5 million. Part of that will come from the city’s light and power budget, and part will come from tax increment finance funding.
Substations extend the power grid by allowing a large amount of electricity to flow to a new place. They redistribute the voltage in lower amounts to make it usable at other sources.
The city still has to buy poles, wire, conduit, circuit breakers and other equipment associated with a substation.
Nestle announced in May that it plans to build a $359 million, 880,000-square-foot factory and distribution center for the manufacture of Coffeemate and ready-to-drink flavored milk.
The bids will now go back to the light and power department to choose which one is best. Temporary power to the site will be brought to the site in two to three weeks.