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Williams city staff moving forward on new electric substation
City likely to pay APS around $280,000 per year for five years

APS will install a new substation at the northeast corner of Airport Road and Ellen Way. Graphic/Coconino County

APS will install a new substation at the northeast corner of Airport Road and Ellen Way. Graphic/Coconino County

WILLIAMS, Ariz. - The city of Williams' electric system is at its limit. In an effort to resolve current capacity shortages, as well as allow for future growth, Williams may receive a new electric substation in as soon as three months.

The Williams City Council discussed the possibility at its Sept. 11 meeting. The current electric system is outdated, and the city has had to complete several conversion projects in the last few years to help deal with the issue. In addition, the system is near capacity.

"It's almost imperative that we have a new substation," Mayor John Moore said. "We've barely got enough power in town to operate everything we've got now."

The existing substation is located on Oak Street between Sixth and Seventh Streets, and discussions for building a new substation have been ongoing for about 10 years. However, recent developments have heightened the necessity for a new substation. The city's current water crisis resulted in the reactivation of the Rodeo Well, which used up the capacity originally planned for the future Love's Travel Stop. In addition, the city is considering drilling additional wells in that area, which would require additional power.

"With the current system at or above capacity, no new demand, whether from existing customers or new growth, could be met without a new substation to strategically relocate capacity," City Manager Brandon Buchanan wrote in his staff report to the mayor and council.

Because of the severity of the problem, Arizona Public Service (APS) has expedited a process that usually takes at least two years to an estimated 90 days.

"The driving factor here is the time and some of the different uses we have coming online, whether it's our uses for the Rodeo Well or some of the commercial uses that are going to be coming on in the next three to six months," Buchanan said.

Staff presented the council with three possible two-acre locations for the substation on city owned property: the northeast corner of a parcel of land at Airport Road and Ellen Way for a total cost of $1,400,000, the northwest corner of the same parcel of land at Airport Road and Ellen Way for $1,492,000, or a portion of the land at the wastewater treatment plant for $1,847,000.

All three options included $250,000 for a past due tree trimming project, which will allow the city to pay for it over several years instead of all at once.

With little discussion, the council directed staff to pursue the first location at the northeast corner of the parcel at Airport Road and Ellen Way.

This site was the least expensive because it did not require a new service road like the option on the northwest corner of the parcel. It also left more usable land on the rest of the parcel. The third option near the wastewater treatment plant would have required a costly relocation of underground utilities and more overhead lines.

The city would pay for the new substation over five years, which would make its annual payment $280,000. APS has agreed to finance the project interest free for a short period of time to allow the city to pay for it.

After the substation is built, APS will have ownership of the project and be responsible for any maintenance costs. A formal agreement, including the city's repayment structure, will come at a later date.

The new substation will eventually serve the wastewater treatment plant and the Grand Canyon Railway shop. This will relieve some of the existing burden on the current substation.

In addition, the new substation will serve several future projects that will require large amounts of power, including the Love's Travel Stop, a new hotel planned near the intersection of north Seventh Street and west Franklin Avenue and the Newpac Fibre sawmill planned at 325 S. Garland Prairie Road.

City officials estimate that the Love's Travel Stop and two planned hotels will generate about $135,000 annually to go toward the $280,000 annual payment for the substation. The remaining $145,000 per year over the next five years would come from the electric fund, which would leave about $100,000 for other capital needs.

If the sawmill begins operations in the next five years, the city would require less money from its electric fund to pay for the substation. When the project is paid for after five years, the city will have a new revenue source from the new projects that the substation will serve.

"I look forward to getting this going," Moore said. "It's not quite as serious as water, but it's getting close."


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