Swift Current City Light and Power is trying to get ahead of potential issues with the aging powerlines in town.
Specifically, the underground power lines that run through parts of the city are well past their prime, at 50 years old. Other parts in the power grid are being federally mandated to be replaced.
Darryl Tunall, director of Light and Power for the City of Swift Current, is hoping to build a relationship with a partner company that would be willing to assist the City in the event of a widespread failure.
"The guarantee would be that we have a working relationship with a contractor who understands our system, works with our team and lo and behold, we end up with a bad situation and event of some sort, they answer the phone," said Tunall. "Because we've built a good working relationship, they'll commit resources to come and help us."
The City is slated to begin working on powerline infrastructure and replacement over the next three weeks. The issue is that while there is a budgeted amount for this work, it won't cover the full extent of work that needs to be done.
Thankfully for the City, the federally mandated changes will be completed by the deadline.
"The underground cables, that is a bit more of a planning event," said Tunall. "Once we can plan and budget, of course, it will be based on the age of the cable, failures, and those types of things. Once we can plan and budget, then it's just a matter of executing the work."
In order to build the relationship, the City of Swift Current is currently working alongside Neuls Holdings (NeuPower) on Powerline Pole and Transformer Changes. This contract is worth $135,000.
That amount is a little under the total value of the Powerline Pole and Transformer Changes project, which rings in at $146,000 for 2024. That money had to be realocated from the 2024 System Improvement Capital Budget, with city councils approval.
"This was not an identified project within the Light and Power 2024 Capital Budget," said Tunall. "Given the legislative mandates for completion, it is being recommended that available funds from the 2024 Light and Power System Improvement Captial Budget be allocated accordingly so that this project may begin."
The federal mandates are forcing the replacement of transformers and power poles that contain PCBs and PCPs. Read more about those changes here.