News Release Archive

Reclamation Awards $3.7 Million Contract for Chandler Power and Pumping Plant Switchyard Replacement

Media Contact: John Redding, (208) 378-5212, jredding@usbr.gov
Thomas Glover, tglover@usbr.gov

For Release: April 11, 2012

The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $3.7 million construction contract for Chandler Power and Pumping Plant Switchyard Replacement Project located about 10 miles northeast of Prosser, Wash.

The contract was awarded to Koontz Electric Company, Inc., Morrilton, Ark., on April 6, 2012. The project is being funded by the Bonneville Power Administration which markets power produced at Reclamation-owned facilities.

Work includes removing existing switchyard steel and concrete structures, constructing an oil-spill containment system, removing existing electrical equipment and installing new switchyard steel structures. The contract also includes modifying security fencing and other features around the exterior of the facility.

The switchyard serves as a hub where electrical power sources are converted from one voltage to another before distribution to consumers.

Onsite construction activity will begin in July 2013, after equipment required for the job is manufactured by the contractor. The entire project is expected to be completed around October 18, 2013. "For Reclamation, this new switchyard will ensure continuity of clean hydroelectric power production which is a mainstay in the Pacific Northwest." said Reclamation Commissioner Michael L. Connor.

The Chandler Powerplant was completed in 1956, and it includes two 6.0 megawatt, 4160 volt hydropower generators, and two 2,600 horsepower pumps which operate from a 10.6 mile canal, diverting up to 1,500 cubic feet per second of water from the Prosser Diversion Dam.

The powerplant is part of a combined irrigation and power development project known as the Kennewick Division that also provides water to about 19,171 acres of irrigable land.

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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.