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July 18, 2014

Over the past few years, the North Little Rock Electric Department has faced some major decisions regarding the Murray Hydro Plant. The decision began with a retrofit of an old mechanical seal system to be replaced with a new rope packing system. The next phase was major turbine repairs that were needed to carry the plant through the next fiscal year all followed by a major turbine overhaul. Having two of the largest horizontal, Kaplan turbines in the world always makes decisions a bit more difficult. It has been such a relief to have a company like Hyrdo Consulting and Maintenance Services (HCMS) that has the confidence and ability to handle such major projects for our department.

Throughout each of our major projects HCMS has provided an experienced, professional staff to walk us through the process and aid in making the best decisions for our faculty. As with any project, there are obstacles along way HCMS exceeded our expectations in handling these without any delays in the projects and overhauls completion dates. In essence, they are always willing to take on any task no matter the difficulty and their desire is to leave each unit in better than new condition when they are finished.

Sometimes with the age and size of our facility it is not always beneficial to go back to the OEM personnel in order to request help or replacements. HCMS has continually shown that ability to reverse engineer or even present more effective and efficient solutions to issues that arise in our facility. They have a desire and willingness to replace all components with like new or better material.

The North Little Rock Electric Department is confident that HCMS will provide the highest quality work and insight on any project at the Murray Hydro Plant.

-Jessica Stephens, System Mechanical Engineer

March 27, 2015

Thank you, to you and your colleagues with HCMS, for the work related to the recent St. Cloud Turbine Rebuild Project. Unit Two is running great and currently, there are no signs of any issues. The City is very happy with the work completed just in time; right before Spring runoff.

Jerry did an outstanding job as the onsite project manager. We were impressed with his attention to detail and most importantly, to safety. His number one rule was to work safe. We didn’t see a single time that he put the crew at risk. The crew always used the necessary safety equipment. Daryl was very impressed with the way he managed his crew. He was able to keep all crew members busy and working hard to get the turbine out and then back together. Jerry also respected Daryl and the facility. He listened to key information and recommendations provided by Daryl.

A special thanks to Kris as well. There were some part replacement lead time issues and we know Kris worked hard to get everything back on schedule. When Jerry needed something, Kris was the one that made sure Jerry got what he needed without any delays of the job. Kris also did a great job keeping Stang Hydro and the City of St. Cloud updated on everything while the turbine was rebuilt in York.

We also want to thank the HCMS crew at the facility. It took many long days to get this job completed in a timely, efficient manner. The HCMS team cleaned up every night before they left and did whatever possible to keep the work area organized and tidy. All extra efforts were appreciated.

We couldn’t be more impressed with the quality of work completed by the HCMS team and would gladly provide a recommendation and/or reference, if needed. We are optimistic that Unit Two turbine will run well for another 20 years.

-Patrick Sheo, Director of Public Service

-Tracy Hodel, Assistant Utilities Director

-Daryl Stang, Stang Hydro

July 17, 2014

During the past several years we have experienced several failures at a couple of our Hydro Plants in Alabama Power Company. These failures range from complete unit tear downs/rebuilds, turbine realignments and general troubleshooting of hydro units within our system.

Hydro Consulting and Maintenance Services Inc. (HCMS) has provided us with an avenue of expertise with these issues. They have also been able to support our needs no matter what the issues; they have provided excellent customer service, safe work environment and worked with us as a partner.

HCMS has always displayed an attitude to complete the job right, finish in time, keep cost reasonable on these projects and display a strong safe work environment for all. HCMS has access to some of the best minds in the business and keeps a well trained staff on board at all times.

I would not hesitate to use HCMS on any job in our system and would recommend them to anyone in the Hydro Business.

-Len Simmons, Alabama Power Company