The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Detroit District will be soliciting proposals for a construction contract to replacement the 15kV Electrical Switchgear at the Hydropower Plant, Sault Ste Marie, Michigan. As part of the construction contract solicitation, USACE intends to include the following two (2) sole source requirements:

(1) Manufacturer, ABB Inc. – Campus Montreal, is the only authorized source for maintenance, updates, and repair of the static excitation system (aka: exciter), as ABB considers the exciter as specialized proprietary equipment. The exciter is vital to maintaining availability of the Hydro Units. The USACE Hydropower plant, located at the Soo Project Office, has been identified as “critical” to facility operations by the Cloverland Electric Company and to the Greater Eastern Upper Peninsula Region of Michigan. An exciter failure is considered a “critical” failure, and results in the Hydro Generator shutting down. ABB is the manufacture and installer of the existing static exciter. It is imperative that only certified engineers/technicians update and test the system. Unqualified personnel not familiar with this critically sensitive specialized equipment could harm the Hydro Generator by causing permanent damage. It is anticipated that validating the system will need to be accomplished while the unit is online. The exciter is electronic with numerous set-points and accidentally changing a parameter could result in significant damage to the generator, which would potentially cost the Government hundreds of thousands of dollars in replacement costs. Additionally, any miss-step with 13,800 VAC could result in personnel injury and electrical damage to the exciter.

(2) Manufacturer, Voith Group - Voith US Inc, is uniquely qualified since they are the manufacture and installer of the governor control system on the hydro generator unit. Voith does not authorize other contractor to install or update their systems. Updating the governor involves identifying hard to detect issues, parameter adjustment, and calibration of the electronic based system that is unique to Voith’s equipment. Modifying it requires intimate knowledge and specific skills typical of manufacturer trained personnel. The governor is vital to maintaining availability of the Hydro Units. The USACE Hydropower plant, located at the Soo Project Office, has been identified as “critical” to facility operations by the Cloverland Electric Company and to the Greater Eastern Upper Peninsula Region of Michigan. A governor failure is considered a “critical” failure, and results in the Hydro Generator shutting down. Voith is the manufacture and installer of the existing governor control system. It is imperative that only certified engineers/technicians update and test the system. Unqualified personnel not familiar with this critically sensitive specialized equipment could harm the Hydro Generator by causing permanent damage. It is anticipated that validating the system will need to be accomplished while the unit is online. The governor is electronic with numerous set-points and accidentally changing a parameter could result in significant damage to the generator, which would potentially cost the Government hundreds of thousands of dollars in replacement costs.

All responsible sources may submit a capability statement which shall be considered by the agency. The submission must be received no later than 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on 14 November 2022 to teresa.l.kelly@usace.army.mil.

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL