Engineering Services for Load Center Replacement

The City of Ames Electric Services Department (City) Is interested in acquiring the services of a consulting firm (Firm) to provide engineering services for the replacement of three load centers located in the City of Ames Power Plant. The design shall include a plan for removal of current equipment, new load center housing for selected breakers with a motorized racking mechanism, breaker control circuits including remote and manual local control, and implementation of the design into current plant electrical systems. Plans and specifications provided will be used to bid the purchase and installation of the equipment. To comply with public bidding laws, procurement documents must be stamped by a licensed professional engineer in the State of Iowa.

This project shall include the replacement of Load centers 5, 6, and 7. The new load centers will be sized to source the same loads from a 3 phase 480VAC bus. Breakers shall be equipped with an automatic racking mechanism. Spare cubicles and load capacity to support plant additions are desired.

The breakers installed on the new load center shall be controlled through Emerson’s Ovation distributed control system (DCS) and be monitored through OSI monarch supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA). Note: The Power Plant is undergoing SCADA replacement. A selection of SEL products is desired to maintain DCS and SCADA functionality.

Scope of Services

The following tasks shall be completed for the load center replacement:

• Task 1 - Electrical Evaluation, Configuration and Preliminary Design: Provide engineering calculations and drawings for the electrical design and replacement of plant load centers. [...] Prepare a memo outlining the planned improvements. Firm will meet with Staff to review recommendations. After all comments are addressed, the document will become the basis of design.
• Task 2 - Schedule: Develop a plan to replace the load centers in a way that will minimize the length of outages and allow the plant to continue operating as needed.
• Task 3 - Final Design: Prepare plans and specifications in accordance with Iowa Public Bidding Laws to obtain bids for the work based on the design report. Provide milestone review opportunities for City staff. Firm will also need to prepare an opinion of probable construction costs.
• Task 4 - Bidding Phase Services: Bidding phase services will include responding to bidder inquiries on technical matters and preparing appropriate clarifications and addenda. [...] The Firm will be asked to assist in the review of the bids and prepare a recommendation for the award.
• Task 5 - Construction Phase Services: Construction phase services will include shop drawing review, approval of pay requests and change orders, and attendance at regular construction progress meetings and special meetings with the contractor to clarify the work requirements or resolve field difficulties. [...] Construction phase services will be paid on an hourly, not to exceed basis.
• Task 6 - Arc Flash: Update arc flash information by completing an arc flash study for the new equipment.
• Task 7 - Project Wrap-up and Close-out: Documentation submitted to the City at project Close-out will include certification of project completion, as-builts, and updated plant drawings reflecting changes to the system.

PROPOSALS will be accepted by the City of Ames until **2:00 PM local time on December 10, 2026**, in AmesBids at amesbids.ionwave.net. Firms must be a registered supplier to submit a proposal in AmesBids. Proposals shall be uploaded in the Response Attachment in AmesBids.

The proposal shall include acknowledgement of receipt of all addenda.

Fee Proposal

• The fee proposal shall be submitted as a separate document. Any fee proposal or cost information within the technical proposal will not be used to rank order firms.
• The Fee Proposal shall include a fixed price for performing the tasks outlined in the Scope of Services section above. The fixed price will be an all-inclusive fee including travel, incidentals and all other costs associated with the project.

Evaluation

The evaluation and rating of the technical proposal will be completed before the fee proposal is opened or considered. Proposals will be evaluated based on:

1. The Firm’s demonstrated understanding of the project and ability to provide the required services, as evidenced by the quality, clarity, and completeness of its proposal
2. The Firm’s experience and past performance, including customer satisfaction and references.
3. The proposed timeline for the completion of the project.
4. Cost

Firm Selection: January 2027. Project Kickoff: February 2027.