Lamar Utilities Board Meeting of March 12, 2024

Barbara Crimond | Mar 12, 2024 | Comments 0

The Lamar Utilities Board approved the minutes from its February 27, 2024 meeting, as well as approving purchase orders numbering from 92836 through 92879 in the amount of $782,793.67. Also approved was the payment of bills totaling $845,830.52.

Light and Power Superintendent Houssin Hourieh gave the System Operating Report. Line crews replaced 6 wooden poles with six Class II 40-foot ductile iron poles on the east end 24.9kv circuit from the river crossing to Highway 196 by the West Farms area. The crew also replaced a failed testing wooden pole with a 40-foot Class II wooden pole on the SW 24.9kv circuit at the Big Timbers Museum.

The crew has been performing tree trimming, general line maintenance and have installed 14 pole enforcers on circuit poles that cross major highways.

On Saturday, March 2, 2024, the distribution system was impacted by high winds. At around 10:00 AM, a wildfire broke out near Boggsville at Highway 101 and quickly spread northeast, reaching our 69kv line southeast of Las Animas. The fire burned two 69kv structures that also have an underbuilt 4kv Circuit. The fire caused a power outage to the Ft. Lyon area. Las Animas requested that we feed Ft. Lyon, which we did using our 69kv line from Lamar to east side of Ft. Lyons’s substation. Las Animas and our crew worked together to replace the burned structures. We installed two 70-foot Class I steel poles, one 70-foot Class I wooden pole and one 65-foot Class I steel pole. The department needed to order new poles to replace the ones taken from stock for these repairs. The low bid was from McWane Poles at a cost of $23,842.26, which the board voted unanimously to approve.

Mr. Hourieh showed Board members the new metal mesh material the department is using to wrap wooden poles in high burn areas. It is being tested as such to hopefully prevent these poles from burning during fires. If successful, the wrap will be used on more of the wooden poles, which is more cost-effective than replacing them with the more expensive steel poles.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 26 at 12:00 p.m.