Published: September 15, 2009 08:48 am      

GRDA upgrades Energy Control Center

In the monthly video, Grand River Dam Authority Directors saw a piece aired on the television program Integris Oklahoma. The story was about tours at Pensacola Dam.

Pensacola Dam is the longest multi-arch dam in the world. First conceived by Henry Holderman, it took 40 years to get funding for the project which began during the 1930’s depression. During the construction, concrete was poured 24 hours a day for 20 months. Thirteen workers fell to their death before nets were borrowed from the Golden Gate Bridge construction.

Pundits said the lake would take years to fill, but Grand Lake was full in less than one year. Regular tours are conducted from Memorial Day through Labor Day, but special tours may be

scheduled at other times.

The Energy Control Center for GRDA is atop Kerr Dam. All electricity routing is done from that location. The last update of that facility was

in 1991. To satisfy

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and North American Electric Reliability Corporation regulations, the facility needs an upgrade. The construction bid was awarded at a cost of $7,611,000. The estimated cost was $9.5 million. Rebidding will make it possible to pay for 100 percent of the cost with bond revenues.

Several assets committee recommendations were approved by the board including: a 31-year raw water contract for Grand Lake with Grand Lake Public Works Authority; a 30-year license to encroach for W. Gregg Simpson; a 30-year license to encroach to Donald and Peggy Hodges. The Hodges presented a new appraisal with lower land

values, but the license was approved on the original appraisal of 580 square feet of encroachment. The shoreline management plan for the Markham Ferry Project was approved.

A water contract for the city of Langley will be traded for treated water and sewer at GRDA’s Pensacola Dam facilities.

A memorandum of understanding was approved with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to test for American Burying Beetles at the Tonnece transmission line on the Arkansas border.

A change order was approved on the feeder line rebuild from Kerr Dam to Pensacola Dam to raise the wires from seven to 10 feet ground clearance. The increased cost will be $75,000 added to the original cost of $760,000.

Charles Barney, Assistant General Manager of Thermal Generation, reported four new aluminum train sets have been purchased by GRDA and three are already in service. The old steel sets are being changed out and will be sold, but that process has caused a railroad parking problem.

Barney said the railroad had agreed to park the train cars for up to six months, but now they want to be paid $75 per day to do so.

“The American railroad fleet is about 1.5 million cars,” Barney said. “Around 600,000 of those cars are now parked.”

Barney found parking with three other railroads for $3 to $5 a day. Directors approved parking contracts with South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad, Inc., Arkansas & Missouri Railroad Company and Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad, Inc.