Spokane electrical contractor Pick Electric Inc. has been selected for a $6.5 million equipment replacement and upgrade at the Libby Dam, located 17 miles upstream from Libby, Mont., on the Kootenai River.

Brian Triddy, project manager for Pick Electric, says the project involves changing out electrical panels that distribute generated electricity throughout the dam. There are three such panels located in the powerhouse section of the dam and two in the dam itself, he says. 

“They’re significant (pieces of equipment),” he says. “On each one of them in the powerhouse, there’s transformers on the end that are 10,000 pounds, and they’re 32 feet to 35 long and six feet deep … we’re changing out, basically, all the motor control centers in the dam.”

Triddy says Pick Electric, which is located at 4805 N. Florida here, expects to receive a notice to proceed with the project this week. After that, the company has 720 days to complete the project, he says. The project client is the Army Corps of Engineers, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The bid request for this project came from the organization’s Seattle office.  

The Libby Dam was constructed in 1972 as a joint project between the U.S. and Canada. The 422-foot-tall dam holds back 90 miles of water in Lake Koocanusa, 48 of which lie in the U.S. The dam provides flood protection and generates hydroelectric power for the region.