SOUTH RIVER — The Borough Council has decided to reject the initial round of bids it sought regarding backup power generation in South River.
Borough Engineer Bruce Koch of CME Associates reported that four companies submitted bids for the two generator options — six small generators or one 1-megawatt generator.
The bids are for diesel generators, Koch said, explaining that natural gas generators require more service and are run by a fuel that has the potential to be shut off in an emergency. A diesel generator, meanwhile, is certified for life, he added.
Borough Council members and town professionals were surprised to learn during the business meeting on March 10 that the bid for the six generators came in lower than the bid for the single one.
The low bidder for the multiple generators was Tru-Val Electric of Hackensack, which came in at $988,730. Forest Electric of Edison came in as the low bidder for the single generator, seeking a price of $1.212 million.
“We’re at a point where we can award either one … or you can put it back out to bid,” Koch said after reviewing the numbers. However, he said he felt the bids on the single generator in particular were high, and a rebidding process might yield lower numbers.
“Sometimes you just get a sense for something,” he said, although he cautioned that a rebid could also bring in higher numbers.
In terms of rejecting the bids, Koch said a new advertisement could be placed within a week. He put the turnaround time at about a month.
Council President Thomas Roselli said he was surprised about the bid figures, and later said in his council comments that he was glad he championed bid solicitation for both scenarios even though he was criticized for potentially holding up the process.
The council was unanimous in electing to seek new bids.
Late last year, council members debated whether six generators or one would be more beneficial; the issue was exacerbated in 2012 by superstorm Sandy. In December, Councilman Shawn Haussermann said he was in favor of six small generators, with the idea that they would be more useful for individual tasks in an emergency and would provide more options, whereas a single generator could fail.
Councilman Jim Hutchison had countered that just running the borough’s pumps — a problem during Sandy — would require more power than any of the smaller generators could provide.
Councilman Peter Guindi also spoke in favor of pursuing one large generator.
Mayor John Krenzel had said at that time that he wanted CME to arrange bid specs on both plans to avoid any concerns afterward as to whether the proper due diligence had been done. Krenzel had also said he supported the one-generator model, explaining that during a crisis, emergency personnel are being routed to various locations and tasks quickly, making a single generator a more efficient solution.