Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is the oldest continuously operating military installation west of the Mississippi River, established in 1827. It is known as the "Intellectual Center of the Army" as it is home to the United States Army Combined Arms Center.
In 2001, the federal government announced plans to privatize certain functions on military bases as a cost-savings measure. Maintaining the Fort electrical infrastructure on base was put out to bid in late 2001. A long 4 years later, in September of 2005, LJEC was finally awarded the contract for the ownership and operation of the Fort Leavenworth electric distribution system.
The contract was signed in February of 2006 and is effective for 50-years. The contract is not subsidized by LJEC but instead is fully funded by the U.S. government through a monthly payment to LJEC. Every three years, contract pricing is reviewed and adjusted to ensure LJEC is recovering all costs.
Work includes Repair and Renewal (R&R). This includes work to upgrade the current system and work to address code issues. The electrical infrastructure at the Fort has been piece-mealed together over the years and is in need of upgrades to improve efficiency.
LJEC also performes Operations and Maintenance work (O&M). This part of the contract is for work to keep the current system up and operating.
In addition to the R&R and O&M work, LJEC is also the electrical contractor for any new electric utility work on the Fort. Any new buildings, including the large amount of new housing that has been built is all included under LJEC's contract. To date (Feb 2011), LJEC has completed over $5 million in new housing electrical work alone.
LJEC owns and maintains the following infrastructure at Fort Leavenworth:
- 50 miles of distribution line
- 6 miles of transmission line
- 634 transformers
- 222 meters
- 860 lights
- 3 substations
