Exhibit 1 - Agenda Information SheetCity of Denton
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AGENDA INFORMATION SHEET
DEPARTMENT: Materials Management
CM: Todd Hileman
DATE: October 9, 2018
SUBJECT
Consider adoption of an ordinance of the City of Denton, Texas, a Texas home-rule municipal corporation,
authorizing the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Agreement with POWER Engineers, Inc.,
to provide services for Capital Improvement Projects where design or relay and control commissioning has
been initiated; for providing North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) required periodic relay and
protection system testing for two substations; for meeting obligations of the Texas Municipal Power Agency
(TMPA) Transmission Operator, Maintenance, and Construction Services Agreement; for providing a
contingency for unforeseen engineering support requirements; and for providing a contingency for
emergency relay and control system support; providing for the expenditure of funds therefor; and providing
an effective date (File 6861 – awarded to POWER Engineers, Inc., in the not-to-exceed amount of
$776,600). The Public Utilities Board recommends approval (5-0).
INFORMATION /BACKGROUND
Denton Municipal Electric (DME) requires the services of consultants to develop structural and electrical
designs for electric transmission lines and substations and to provide other engineering and operations
related support services. Examples of services required are designs for transmission lines and substations,
substation relay and control system commissioning, NERC required periodic testing of relay and control
systems, support for Texas Reliability Entity (TRE) audits of commissioning and testing activities
(verification of records, interpretation of records and test results, explanations of testing, etc.), review and
analysis of relay operations in response to system events, technical consultations when system protection
events occur or system protection questions arise, and consultation for NERC standards compliance. Over
time, there will not be sufficient work to justify a full-time staff with the expertise necessary to address all
needs. Using outside resources is an efficient and reasonable method for obtaining the temporary and
specialized services needed.
DME has a contract with POWER Engineers, Inc. (PEI), in place for such services, but the funds approved
for the contract have almost been expended. Several design projects and station commissioning projects are
underway and must be completed. A list of the tasks that PEI is currently working on is contained in Exhibit
3. DME proposes to arrange for a new contract with PEI for the professional and technical services needed
for designs related to the projects that are in progress, for support in the procurement and construction
phases of transmission line projects, for completion of as-built records and drawings, and for other
engineering and operations technical consulting needs related to substation projects. Two contingency items
are included. One provides a small buffer to cover unforeseen needs related to the projects listed in Exhibit
3 and to provide engineering services for unforeseen items that might arise. The second is more of a
City Hall
215 E. McKinney Street
Denton, Texas
www.cityofdenton.com
contingency to provide immediately available funding for responding to emergencies or urgent needs
related to relay and control system issues.
If the design responsibilities for the projects listed in Exhibit 3 are reassigned to an engineering group other
than PEI, every aspect of the work that they have completed and the information that has been gathered
would have to be verified before any other engineering firm could professionally seal the designs or
complete the final records necessary.
The TEXAS ENGINEERING PRACTICE ACT AND RULES CONCERNING THE PRACTICE OF
ENGINEERING AND PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING LICENSURE requirements state:
§137.33 Sealing Procedures
(a) The purpose of the engineer’s seal is to assure the user of the engineering product that the work
has been performed or directly supervised by the professional engineer named and to delineate the
scope of the engineer’s work.
Texas Engineering Practice Act and Rules Page 54 of 67 Effective 9/10/07
(b) License holders shall only seal work done by them, performed under their direct supervision as
defined in §131.81 of this title, relating to Definitions, or shall be standards or general guideline
specifications that they have reviewed and selected. Upon sealing, engineers take full professional
responsibility for that work.
Further, if any commissioning or testing work that has been undertaken by PEI is transferred to another
firm, all testing and commissioning work would have to be reaccomplished before that firm could certify
the results.
PEI has been providing these types of services to DME and Texas Municipal Power Association (TMPA)
for several years. They are TMPA’s engineering firm of choice for transmission line design and for system
protection testing and commissioning. PEI has completed aerial surveying in the Denton area for the all of
TMPA transmission line facilities to aid in insuring that NERC clearance compliance requirements are
verified and to use in the design of upgrades for TMPA transmission lines. DME has used PEI for all design
activities related to upgrading of lines that were originally owned by TMPA. This avoided the expensive
and time-consuming effort to resurvey the transmission line routes that TMPA had already surveyed.
PRIOR ACTION/REVIEW (COUNCIL, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS)
On September 24, 2018, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) recommended this item to the City Council for
consideration.
RECOMMENDATION
Award a Professional Services Agreement with POWER Engineers, Inc., to provide services for Capital
Improvement Projects where design or relay and control commissioning has been initiated, in the not-to-
exceed amount of $776,600.
PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS
POWER Engineers, Inc.
Hailey, ID
ESTIMATED SCHEDULE OF PROJECT
This project will be started upon approval.
FISCAL INFORMATION
These services will be funded from the CIP account 603246491. Requisition #139677 has been entered
into the Purchasing software system in the amount of $776,600. Approximately $40,000 will be funded
out of funds budgeted for NERC required periodic testing of protective relay and control systems. These
costs for transmission projects and maintenance expenses will ultimately be recovered through the Public
Utility Commission transmission cost of service program (TCOS). Amounts for all capital projects were
included in the approved CIP.
STRATEGIC PLAN RELATIONSHIP
The City of Denton’s Strategic Plan is an action-oriented road map that will help the City achieve its vision.
The foundation for the plan is the five long-term Key Focus Areas (KFA): Organizational Excellence;
Public Infrastructure; Economic Development; Safe, Livable, and Family-Friendly Community; and
Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship. While individual items may support multiple KFAs, this
specific City Council agenda item contributes most directly to the following KFA and goal:
Related Key Focus Area: Public Infrastructure
Related Goal: 2.5 Develop a Capital Improvement Program that will meet our
community's needs
EXHIBITS
Exhibit 1: Agenda Information Sheet
Exhibit 2: Ordinance and Contract
Respectfully submitted:
Lori Hewell, 940-349-7100
Purchasing Manager
For information concerning this acquisition, contact: George Morrow at 940-349-8487.