News Release Archive

Reclamation Awards Contract for Colorado Powerplant Work

Media Contact: Kara Lamb, (970) 962-4326 , klamb@gp.usbr.gov
Mark Andersen , 406-247-7610, mandersen@gp.usbr.gov

For Release: December 06, 2005

Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner John Keys announced that Reclamation today awarded a $3,995,000 contract for work on six Reclamation powerplants in Larimer and Summit counties, Colo.

The contract was awarded to Koontz Electric Company, Inc., of Morrilton, Ark. The contractor will modify rotating exciters and furnish and install new excitation systems at the Flatiron, Pole Hill, Big Thompson, Estes, Marys Lake, and Green Mountain powerplants. The work is part of routine maintenance to keep the facilities reliable and efficient.

A notice to proceed with the work is scheduled to be issued on December 26. The contractor will have three years to complete the work.

The excitation system is part of a powerplant generator. As the generator turbine turns, the exciter sends an electrical current to the rotor, which is a series of large electromagnets that spins inside a tightly-wound coil of copper wire, called the stator. The magnetic field between the coil and the magnets creates the electric current.

For more information on the work or the powerplants, please contact Kara Lamb at either (970) 962-4326 or klamb@gp.usbr.gov.

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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.