Hydro One recommends 44kV upgrade for Brockville’s MURF, triggering design and budget adjustments
Another nearly $50,000 will be spent to construct Brockville’s Multi-Use Recreational Facility (MURF).
At their regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 24, Brockville City Council approved a change order to invest an additional $47,137.90 into the MURF to accommodate necessary electrical design upgrades.
Hydro One, in coordination with city staff and IDEA/N45, have concluded that the current 8.32kV service at the existing Memorial Centre would be insufficient for the scope of the expanded facility. As a result of these findings, Hydro One is suggesting upgrading the service to 44kV, which would require complex adjustments to the facility’s design and site plans.
“Currently, the Memorial Centre is a 600 volt three phase high power system that runs all of our compressors and ice plant and different things throughout the facility,” an overview provided to council by Phil Wood, the director of operations, explained.
Wood continued, “With the expansion to build another facility adjacent and connected, the new design calls for a single, amalgamated ice banking plant that runs both. The idea is that the plant will be nearly double in size in terms of power consumption.”
Some of the necessary work that this expansion will include:
- Designing a high-voltage station
- Conducting a ground grid study and field measurements
- Coordinating connection requirements
- Selecting new equipment, updating drawings, and submitting to the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA)
Wood clarified, “The solution is that we bring a higher power source to the facility, which would have a localized transformer, which would then provide us with all of the power needs for the larger, higher powered consumption facility.
In terms of financial implications, the initial budget allocated to the MURF project in 2022 was $1,200,000. The summary of expenses has reached $1,165,516.88 to date, with a surplus of $34,483.12.
However, now that the change order for electrical upgrades has been approved for $47,137.90, the budget now faces a net deficit of $12,654.78, which will be sourced from the Arena Reserve.