REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action to Delegate Authority to the City Manager to Issue Purchase Orders to Mader Supply, LLC for the Purchase of Steel Transmission Poles for an Aggregate Maximum Amount of $5,000,000, Funded by Silicon Valley Power
Report
BACKGROUND
Silicon Valley Power (SVP), the City of Santa Clara's electric utility, has multiple planned transmission line extension and rebuild projects that will require the procurement of steel transmission poles over the next several years. These projects include Transmission Loop 1 (CIP 2459), Agnew Substation Rebuild and Expansion (CIP 2469), Walsh-Uranium 60kV Reconductor (CIP 2458), Homestead Substation Rebuild (CIP 2431), and NRS-KRS 115-kV Line Project (CIP 2455). The substation projects necessitate overhead transmission lines as the pole work is occurring within or directly adjacent to the substations. Undergrounding for short segments have numerous challenges, including the addition of riser poles to go from overhead to underground resulting in negative aesthetic impacts. While reconductoring projects typically reuse existing poles, SVP has planned for the replacement of several poles based upon their condition. SVP anticipates ordering approximately 200 steel transmission poles over the next five years.
In 2023, the City conducted a competitive solicitation for steel transmission poles to support several transmission infrastructure projects. The City Council subsequently authorized the issuance of purchase orders with an aggregate amount of $6,500,000 (RTC 23-1311). Of this amount, approximately $2,000,000 remains unspent under this authorization. The primary electric pole supplier is Wireless Structures Consulting, Inc. dba Western Utility Telecom, Inc. Although there are significant funds remaining under the current authorization, they are insufficient to meet insufficient to support SVP's anticipated needs for its upcoming transmission projects. Because the $6,500,000 is a hard cap and canno...
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