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Home My WebLink About11172025 Laydown 4 Seward Electric SystemSeward Electric System Modernization Project Seward’s electric grid is undergoing a major upgrade to improve safety, reliability, and long-term resilience. Much of our transmission, substation, and control equipment is decades old and at end-of- life. This project ensures that Seward continues to have safe and dependable electricity for residents, businesses, the hospital, the harbor, and future development. This work is needed to: 1.Address Safety Issues: Some equipment does not meet current electrical safety standards including the replacement of inadequate ground grids, replacement of compromised structures, and the improvement of operator situational awareness 2.Replace: Replace equipment which is at the end of its useful life, including aged and ineffective transformation, protection, and metering equipment. 3.Upgrade: By upgrading from 69kV to 115kV, Seward has lower losses, improved emergency response through increased Railbelt interoperability, increased capacity for future load growth, and integration with Shore Power and Battery Energy Storage System. The upgrade from 69kV to 115kV is not a significant factor in the cost, adding about 3 to 7 percent to the final cost while providing significantly improved delivery capability and operations and maintenance integration with other Railbelt utilities. What the Project Includes The modernization effort covers transmission lines and key substations: Nash Road & Fort Raymond Conversion Replacing poles, wire, and switches to improve reliability and meet current safety codes. Fort Raymond Substation Upgrade power transformers and feeder breakers, replace end of life control and protection, upgrade ground grid and fencing to meet National Electric Safety Code (NESC) Lawing Substation Similar upgrades to meet safety standards, upgrade power transformers, and add remotely operated load break tap switch Spring Creek Substation Replace ground grid and fencing to meet NESC code, replace end of life control and protection, and upgrade power transformers Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Enhances data visibility, allows for accurate billing and operational efficiency, improves outage management, enhances grid reliability, and empower customers What the Most Recent Council Resolutions Support The resolutions under consideration accept the contract for the final major two projects – Lawing and Spring Creek which will replace equipment that is past its usable life complete the system-wide conversion, moving the project into the “finish line” stage. Laydown from the City Manager Nov 17, 2025 Project sub component 2022 Estimate 2025 Actual/Estimate Updated 2025 w/Bids Status Nash Road Phase 1 4,568,969$ 4,140,254$ 4,140,254$ -$ Complete Nash Road Phase 2*1,285,724$ 2,447,011$ 2,200,000$ (247,011)$ 100% design bid package complete- bids rec'd Seward Highway 619,565$ 619,565$ 619,565$ -$ Complete Fort Raymond 7,165,582$ 6,776,525$ 6,776,525$ -$ Complete Lawing 3,272,727$ 3,500,000$ 5,200,000$ 1,700,000$ 100% design complete construction bid rec'd Spring creek 3,960,419$ 4,356,461$ 5,400,000$ 1,043,539$ RFP results for engineer procure construct complete Shore Power**1,436,000$ -$ -$ (1,436,000)$ Design consultant engaged- Clean Ports Grant AMI -$ 1,200,000$ 1,200,000$ -$ Budgetary quote RFP rec'd under evaluation Total 22,308,986$ 23,039,816$ 25,536,344$ 2,496,528$ Current Funding 14,290,726$ Required Additional Funding 8,749,090$ 2,496,528$ Total Funding Request 11,245,618$ * Final design required significanly more pole replacements than preliminary design ** Shore power estimate (electrical infrastrucuture +BESS) is ~ $30M; however, EPA grant and Seward Co. contribution will cover 100% This modernization project is essential to: • Meet safety standards • Keep power reliable in every season and prevent long-duration outages • Support shore power and community growth • Position Seward for a resilient energy future Funding History and Current Estimates: Below is a breakdown of each component of the electric infrastructure project, showing its status and the updated 2025 cost estimate compared to the original 2022 estimates. The 2025 figures reflect actual expenditures to date or amounts submitted during the recent RFP processes, so they represent accurate and up-to-date estimates. We saw the largest cost increase in the Nash Road Phase 2 project, primarily due to a higher number of poles requiring replacement than originally anticipated. Lawing and Spring Creek also experienced increases, largely driven by inflation between 2022 and today. Several other components, however, came in under the original estimates. Additionally, AMI metering was added to the overall project scope after 2022 due to its importance for operational efficiency and future system planning. We were able to cover all Cruise Shore Power expenditures, and to significantly expand the scope of that project, through the Clean Ports EPA grant and cost share agreement with the new cruise port developers. Even with these adjustments, the total project cost has increased only about three percent compared to the 2022 estimate. When the project was initiated in 2022, the administration brought forward a $19.5 million funding resolution (Resolution 2022-023) to cover the full scope. During the council meeting, the bond amount was amended to $10 million to allow the project to proceed in stages “so that it could move forward efficiently, and so rates could be reviewed and adjusted accordingly as the project progressed” (02/14/22 Meeting Minutes). The progress to date has been funded through a combination of the initial bond proceeds and Electric Enterprise Fund reserves We have now reached the point where the remaining work—estimated at approximately $11.2 million—needs to be funded, and we are not proposing any rate increases to do so. Administration is recommending the use of an internal loan to fund the remainder of the project. The specifics of that financing approach are being developed and will be presented to the council in early 2026.