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W A 1 I R E fJ Z R G Y i I F C RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES WI& Board Memorandum P U B L I C U T I L I T I E S BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES DATE: October 21, 2011 ITEM NO: 4 SUBJECT: RIVERSIDE ENERGY RESOURCE CENTER UNITS 1 AND 2 CONTROL SYSTEM UPGRADE ISSUE: That the Board of Public Utilities consider approval of a Control System Package Upgrade Proposal with General Electric (GE) Packaged Power Inc. in the amount of $198,240 to upgrade the Operating Control System for the Riverside Energy Resource Center (F�ERC) Units 1 and 2 Turbines and Balance of Plant Equipment. RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Public Utilities approve the issuance of a purchase order to GE Packaged Power Inc., of Houston, Texas, in the amount of$198,240 for RERC Units 1 and 2 operating software modifications. BACKGROUND: RERC Units 1 and 2 were commissioned in June 2006. In Apri l 2011, RERC Units 3 and 4 were completed, doubling the capacity of the RERC facility to 200 MW of internal generation. As the result of the five-year construction gap, the control systems for each set of Units are operating on different versions of software. Staff was aware of this situation during construction of RERC Units 3 and 4, but chose not to add additional levels of complexity to the commissioning process and wait until construction was completed to begin investigating the migration of Units 1 and 2 to the same more advanced operating software. Running the facility over the last six(6) months using two (2)versions of software has presented numerous challenges in day-to-day operations. Due to the complexity of this equipment,troubleshooting problems and minor repairs are an ongoing activity. Performing these standard operation procedures using two(2)versions of Balance of Plant software has complicated many issues. Additionally,obtaining technical support from GE is critical in Riverside Public Utilities"efforts to make all units available for dispatch. The older version of the software does not allow full utilization of the remote troubleshooting services available, making equipment repairs more difficult and time consuming. An additional benefit of this upgrade is enhancements to the Nox and Sprint water systems that cool the equipment. This upgrade will result a 2%-3% reduction in treated water costs and reduced maintenance of the water injection system, extending the operational life of the plant. GE is the OEM and proprietary owner of the software and hardware control systems at RERC. An alternative or aftermarket product is not available for this product. Section 201(2) of City Council Resolution No. 21182 provides that the City's formal competitive Bidding requirements may be waived if the City's Purchasing Services Manager determines that"the Procurement can only be obtained from a sole source or timely from a single source and the Manager is satisfied that the best price, terms and conditions for the Procurement thereof have been negotiated". Here, based upon the foregoing facts, the Purchasing Services Manager has determined that the software and hardware can only be obtained through GE and formal competitive bidding is not required.