GMK was retained by the City of Columbia to provide mechanical and electrical design services for the addition of a new generator for the City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) located at Washington Square in downtown Columbia. This project entailed the addition of a new generator for the entire building’s operations as it was not previously served with emergency backup power. Such back up power was essential to support the City’s EOC operations that were to be relocated into the existing building.

This complex design and installation required careful coordination among the design team, the City of Columbia, and Dominion Energy. The addition of the new generator entailed on site coordination with Dominion Energy to shut down the existing power grid serving the building during the tie in of new service conductors, locating of the new transfer switch, and installation of service entry gear - all at the underground manhole level. 

Additionally, the project included fully custom-designed gear within the existing basement space of the building as the system needed to be installed within an existing footprint upfit. Successful construction and equipment installation for the project was completed in 2020.