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.