Luverne City Council members took action on another step in the process of building the new $4 million electrical substation in the industrial park.
After a May 17 bid letting, the council at its May 22 meeting awarded the general contractor work to Highmark Erectors from Black Hawk, South Dakota, who submitted the low bid of $1,408,216.
City engineers with DGR are reportedly familiar with work done by Highmark, which they recommend as an experienced general contractor in the electrical trades.
Highmark will be in charge of the site preparation work, foundations, ground grid, the control building, circuit switches and other details associated with the substation construction.
The contractor will also be responsible for putting together all of the main components of the substation, such as the main transformer, switchgear and control panel, steel erection, poles, etc.
Bids for these components were previously awarded to respective firms.
The contractor will likely start in mid-June, and the project is expected to be substantially completed by Jan. 31, 2019.
The new substation is being built on Walnut Avenue in the industrial park on 3 acres the city purchased from Rich Dreckman last year.
It’s located directly on the 69,000 KV connection to the L&O Power Cooperative wheeling hub on the west edge of town.
This third substation, referred to as the south substation, will accommodate future development in Luverne and bolster the city’s existing electrical system.
The west substation is located near The Lake by the DenHerder construction shop.
The east substation is located near the city Public Works shops behind the former Casey’s East building.
The two have backed each other up when one isn’t functioning, and at those times the entire city grid is powered by one substation.
According to Call, this is a precarious way to operate, especially considering Luverne’s electrical needs.
“Our load growth is getting large enough that it can’t be run by just one substation,” he said at a budget meeting last year.
“We have to plan for one being out and the other two carrying load.”
The city worked with Dreckman to arrange new locations for his commercial buildings in the industrial park, and his home will be moved this summer to a lot on Spring Street that the city recently cleared of a blighted structure.