SELCO Commission Votes to Use Construction Manager at Risk for New Facilities Project

SHREWSBURY — February 24, 2026 — SELCO Commission unanimously approves construction manager at risk procurement method and hears of a looming $5 million substation repair bill. The Shrewsbury Electric and Cable Operations Commission voted at its February 24 meeting to authorize General Manager Chris Roy to enter into a construction manager at risk agreement for the utility's new facilities project and to adopt related Office of Inspector General Chapter 149A procurement procedures, clearing the way for the OIG application process. Owner's project manager Tom Doolittle of Skanska told commissioners the CM at risk method — used successfully on the Beal School and police station — suits SELCO's phased construction needs and provides a guaranteed maximum price. Roy separately briefed commissioners on the February 9 catastrophic failure of a transformer at the Centec substation, which cut power to roughly 6,200 customers for about two hours; a replacement unit carries a four-year market lead time, and Roy estimated total costs across temporary and permanent solutions at roughly $5 million, with an initial spare-unit purchase from National Grid running just under $800,000. A Great Blue Research survey of 690 customers found 90 percent satisfaction with SELCO internet service but only about one-third rating SELCO Stream TV as a good or excellent value.