During last week’s Centralia City Council meeting, the council approved the purchase of a total of 82 wooden poles treated with dichloro-octyl-isothiazolinone (DCIO) for Centralia City Light to utilize as they replace powerline poles in the city.
Micah Goo, general manager of the Yelm Hydroelectric Project for Centralia City Light, explained to the council that poles often need to be replaced and Centralia City Light has almost emptied its replacement pole stock.
“We go through about 10 to 15 45-foot poles per week, and we’re down to about 30 of them in stock right now,” Goo said. “The other size pole that we use is a 35-foot pole and we have none of them in stock.”
Because of this, Centralia City Light line crews are now focusing on more underground work, while trying to repair damaged poles rather than replacing them.
“If we don’t get anymore poles, we are gonna have a hard time trying to repair or replace anymore poles that are hit by cars or vehicles or just basically deteriorate,” Goo said.
He also explained while there are two wooden pole providers in the Pacific Northwest, only one of the manufacturers produces poles treated with DCIO, which caused the request that was brought forth to the council to be a sole source resolution.
That manufacturer is Stella-Jones, which according to its website is, “North America’s leading producer of industrial pressure-treated wood products.”
Centralia purchased 48 of the 35-foot, DCIO-treated poles and 34 of the 45-foot, DCIO-treated poles for a total of $115,599.24. Goo told the council the poles can be expected to arrive in approximately 20 weeks.
According to the council’s agenda report, “DCIO has been field tested for over 28 years and it has been found to be environmentally friendly and highly effective in preventing organism damage to wood poles.”
To go along with the power pole purchase, the council also approved the purchase of 15 rebuilt, pole-mounted distribution transformers for a total of $31,697.19 from T&R Electric Supply Company, Inc., out of South Dakota.
Goo explained suppliers of transformers are also becoming tougher to find, which has led to a supply shortage, causing the request to come before the council in the form of a special market conditions resolution. T&R was chosen due to it offering good prices, delivery times and a three-year warranty for rebuilt units, according to the council’s agenda report.
Additionally, Centralia City Light can expect the rebuilt transformers to be delivered within 36 to 38 weeks. Sourcewell, a cooperative purchasing program Centralia City Light previously utilized for transformer purchases, told the utility it would be at least a 143 week-long wait. The next closest supplier offered Centralia City Light a 72 week-long wait starting in January 2024 as they are no longer accepting orders in 2023.
