Supplies for the upcoming hydro upgrade in the Valley Heights neighbourhood of Grand Forks are being ordered ahead of time.
During a special meeting Friday morning (Feb. 21), council approved buying $350,000 in supplies for the project before this year’s budget is approved.
Councillor Rod Zielinski was the only one on council to vote against the early approval.
While getting quotes for materials, staff say price guarantees are coming in for shorter time periods – a sign of market volatility. The quotes, normally for 60 to 90 days, are now “days or weeks.”
There’s also concern supply costs could also rise with the threat of U.S. tariffs.
Replacing the underground electrical in the east end neighbourhood of Valley Heights is a top priority for Grand Forks this year – a roughly $1.7 million project.
Part of the grid suffered a catastrophic failure on New Year’s Day, leaving 20 homes without power for two days. The city’s east end water reservoir was also affected by the outage.
Be the first to know! Don’t miss out on breaking news and daily updates in your area. Sign up to MyGrandForksNow News Alerts.
