Government

Village to spend nearly $70K on transformer warranty

The village power plant on Moores Lane. (Cyndi Murray file photo)
The village power plant on Moores Lane. (Cyndi Murray file photo)

Greenport Village has decided to spend nearly $70,000 to help keep its electric plant running smoothly.

The decision comes more than seven years into a $5.8 million project to upgrade the Greenport Municipal Electric Plant that has featured dozens of costly snags along the way.

The board voted Monday night in favor of entering a three-year extended warranty and preventative maintenance program for its soon-to-be installed transformer. Electric supply company Avon/Wesco Distribution will perform the work for $67,690 to be paid over a three-year period, village administrator Paul Pallas said.

During the board’s work session last week, the maintenance plan was incorrectly said to cost about $18,000 annually — roughly $57,000 in total. Members of the board and the public questioned the large difference in estimated price over last week.  Mr. Pallas said he regretted the error, but said the transformer’s upkeep is essential to the future of the plant. The maintenance plan and warranty would protect the village moving forward — especially since that type of work cannot be performed in-house, Mr. Pallas said.

“We were thinking much lower figures at the work session,” Trustee David Murray said. “Is it worth it?”

“It really is,” said Mr. Pallas, who also serves as president of the New York Association of Public Power. “Keeping that transformer working is definitely worth it.”

The installation of the transformer is a part of the village’s second phase of upgrades to the electric plan that are scheduled to begin later this year, according to Mayor David Nyce.

The first phase of the multi-million dollar project was completed behind schedule earlier this year, but only after the village incurred a $108,000 penalty fee from the New York Power Association for failing to complete a test of its generators on time. That fee was later passed onto the public without notice.

The board has since vowed to NYPA and residents that the upgrades will be completed in a timely fashion.

The public can expect to learn more about the second phase during the board’s next regular meeting on Tuesday, May 27 when the village’s contractor on the project, Bob Braun of Genesys Engineering, addresses members.

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