New police station gets 'uninterrupted' power
By BENJAMIN C. SHARP bensharp@journal-spectator.com

It will cost more than $17,000 to insure the new Wharton Police Station has an uninterrupted power supply.

That's a small price to pay to guarantee a continual power supply to vital emergency response equipment, Police Chief Tim Guin told the Wharton City Council on Monday.

Though the new facility - now being remodeled at 1407 N. Richmond Road - will have a generator to provide back-up electricity in the case of a power failure, Guin said there's a "lag" between the moment when power goes out and when the generator is actually providing electricity.

That's not a good situation when considering computer dispatch and other critical systems are hooked into that power supply.

"Vital equipment can't be turned off suddenly. A generator requires some time to start," Guin said.

Covering that time lag is the purpose behind having an uninterrupted power supply. Guin said a UPS system "is designed to span the intermediate period to keep vital systems up and running.

"It's real critical," he added. "The whole communications room will be on this battery supply."

Guin presented the council with four quotes for UPS systems. The quotes varied in price from roughly $16,000 to $22,000. Guin suggested the council choose the second lowest: a $17,299 quote from Wholesale Electric of Houston for a Powerware 9355 30KVA unit.

That unit provides more power than the one included in the lowest quote, Guin said, and thus represents a future cost savings considering the police department will eventually have to hook additional systems into the UPS as the city expands.

Guin said the Houston-Galveston Area Council will cover a good portion of the costs. The council unanimously approved going with Guin's suggestion. The facility is expected to be ready for move-in by the end of April.