HOUSTON, June 23, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Port Commission of The Port of Houston Authority (PHA), at its regular June 23 meeting, approved advertising and receipt of proposals for the purchase of deregulated electric power portwide, which should include a percentage of "green" or renewable, environmentally friendly energy, and an interlocal agreement with Harris County for a security infrastructure project that coincides with the creation of the Houston Ship Channel Security District.
Also at the meeting, D. Wayne Klotz, president of Klotz Associates, Inc., presented Port Commission Chairman James T. Edmonds with the American Council of Engineering Companies Engineering Excellence Award in Transportation. The award was given for a project that Klotz Associates completed in 2008 for PHA's $95 million, 100-acre Bayport Phase I Container Yard. Klotz Associates implemented a new, technically challenging application of roller compacted concrete (RCC) on the container yard. The two, nine-inch layers comprised the largest multi-layer placement of RCC to date and the first-ever in Texas, demonstrating effective use of RCC for future PHA and other industrial projects. The project used sustainable materials, managing fluctuating engineering design, budgetary and scheduling issues, and was completed ahead of schedule.
FACILITIES MATTERS
(Agenda I1) Commissioners approved awarding a construction contract to Dashiell, LLC, for 138kV substation expansion at Bayport Container Terminal for $2.2 million. The 138kV substation is an electrical installation that transforms the high voltage from CenterPoint to a lower voltage that can be utilized by cranes, buildings and other equipment at Bayport. The expansion is needed now for a number of reasons. First, electrical power consumption of the wharf cranes is higher than originally estimated at the start of Bayport development. Bayport operations require redundancy of supply. Periodic electrical dredging is anticipated, that will increase electricity consumption, but is more environmentally friendly. The Phase 1 Stage 2 Container Yard, to be completed in the second quarter of 2010, will need additional power. Finally, three new ship-to-shore wharf cranes arriving in the first quarter of 2010 will also need additional power.
(Agenda I5) Commissioners approved advertising and receipt of competitive sealed proposals for North Turning Basin restricted area fence replacement at the Turning Basin Terminal. The project includes removal of deteriorated and damaged fence and installation of about 3,000 feet of eight-foot fence with three-strand barbed wire to comply with U.S. Coast Guard requirements. The Engineering Department has prepared plans and specifications for this work. Total cost is expected to be less than $500,000.
(Agenda I6) The commission approved advertising and receipt of proposals for the purchase of deregulated electric power portwide for one to three years, depending on the electric service rates available for the various time periods. Proposals should include a percentage of "green" or renewable, environmentally friendly energy, such as wind- or solar-powered energy. Cost is estimated to be $6.6 million per year or as much as $19.8 million for a three-year period.
SECURITY MATTERS
(Agenda J2) Commissioners approved entry into an interlocal agreement with Harris County for joint efforts on a security infrastructure project benefiting PHA and the Houston Ship Channel Security District. As recipient of about $31.3 million in grants under the Department of Homeland Security's Port Security Grant Program, Harris County plans to design and construct a portwide security system for the Houston Ship Channel area (Security Project). Included will be a communications network encompassing the ship channel and linking PHA's video data and communications systems with the portwide security infrastructure system being constructed by Harris County. As part of the Security Project, the county has requested that PHA enter into an interlocal agreement with it to permit the county to place certain security towers, poles and related security equipment on mutually agreed-on locations at PHA facilities. It will also assist PHA in interconnecting and enhancing its video data link for PHA facilities and would provide that Harris County allow PHA to share in its fiber conduit alongside Barbours Cut Blvd. The interlocal agreement coincides with the creation of the Houston Ship Channel Security District on June 9, 2009, by Harris County Commissioners Court.
This news release is not a substitute for the official PHA agenda. To view the complete agenda, please visit: http://portofhouston.com/publicrelations/meetings.html
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, there are more than 8,000 vessel calls at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage and second in overall total tonnage. The port authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. The second recertification of those facilities in 2009 included an extension for the state-of-the-art Bayport Container Terminal. PHA is the first port authority in the world to receive ISO 28000:2007 certification for Port Police and the perimeter security operations at both the Barbours Cut and Bayport Terminals. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com
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