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- Reclamation Awards $6 million Contract for Grand Coulee Dam Right Powerplant
News Release Archive
Reclamation Awards $6 million Contract for Grand Coulee Dam Right Powerplant
Media Contact:
John Redding, (208) 378-5212, jredding@pn.usbr.gov
Lynne Brougher, lbrougher@pn.usbr.gov
For Release: March 20, 2009
The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $6 million construction contract to furnish and install three new power transformers and other associated equipment at the Grand Coulee Dam Right Powerplant.
Koontz Electric Co., Inc., Morrilton, Ark., was awarded the contract on March 11. The contractor will remove two in-service General Electric transformers and prepare them for storage as spares. Other related equipment will also be removed and disposed of, including one failed GE transformer.
"This work is essential to ensuring that Grand Coulee Dam is maintained as a crucial part of our national infrastructure," said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. "The hydroelectric power generated from this facility is essential to our economy and national interest."
Work at the Right Powerplant is expected to be completed by February 2011. The Right Powerhouse contains nine generators which began production in 1950. Powerplants at Grand Coulee Dam produce approximately 20 billion kWh of electricity in an average water year, enough to supply more than 1 million homes.
Grand Coulee Dam is located on the Columbia River in north central Washington. It was completed in 1942 and today serves as a multipurpose facility providing water for irrigation, recreation, fish and wildlife, hydroelectric power production, and flood control.
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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.
