PHA Commission Considers $19.8 Million to Purchase Electric Power Through 2012, Including 20 Percent "Green" Energy

Press Conference Introducing New PHA Executive Director to Follow Meeting

• Press Release
• Source: Port of Houston Authority
• On 5:56 pm EDT, Friday September 25, 2009

HOUSTON, Sept. 25, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Port Commission of The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) will consider $19.8 million to purchase electric power through 2012, including 20 percent "green" or renewable energy on Tuesday, September 29, beginning at 9 a.m. in the board room of the PHA Executive Building, 111 East Loop North (Exit 29 off Loop 610) in Houston. Chairman Jim Edmonds will preside over the meeting with Commissioner Steve Phelps, Commissioner Jim Fonteno, Commissioner Kase Lawal, Commissioner Jimmy Burke, Commissioner Janiece Longoria, and Commissioner Elyse Lanier.

Also at the meeting, the Port Commission will act on a recommendation to name Houston businessman Alec G. Dreyer executive director of the Port of Houston Authority, with a press conference scheduled immediately following the meeting.

FACILITIES MATTERS

(Agenda I7) Commissioners will consider awarding a contract to Just Energy Texas L.P. for the purchase of deregulated electric power to be used Port of Houston Authority-wide 2009-2012 for $19.8 million. The contract will include 20 percent renewable energy. That percentage of "green" energy is enough to power approximately 200 homes for an entire year.

(Agenda I9) Commissioners will consider awarding a professional services contract to Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam, Inc., to design Wharf 6 Container Yard at the Bayport Container Terminal for approximately $2.9 million. The design will provide for up to 65 acres of container storage and will enable phased construction to occur as rapidly as necessary to meet the terminal's requirements. The consultant will also provide limited construction phase services.

(Agenda I10) Commissioners will consider awarding a professional services contract to CH2M Hill, Inc. to design Wharf Nos. 2 and 6 at Bayport Terminal for $2.8 million. The design will provide for an additional 660 feet of wharf east and 1,000 feet west of the existing wharf. The consultant will also provide limited construction phase services and excavation plans for advanced dredging and clay mining to be conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers within the Bayport Channel.

(Agenda I13) Commissioners will consider reducing the original funding agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to widen Port Road to a four-lane boulevard and construct an overpass at Bayport Terminal by $629,622. The original project costs, estimated by TxDOT at $16.6 million, and funding agreement were based on preliminary design information. TxDOT opened bids for the project, with the low bid at $4.3 million below the estimated construction cost, and the port authority's share of the total project cost has decreased by $629,622 to a total of $2.7 million. The balance of the cost is to be federally funded. TxDOT requests that the port commission approve its Amendment No. 1 to the original funding agreement to cover PHA's share of the decreased cost.

OPERATIONS MATTERS

(Agenda K4) Commissioners will consider advertising and receipt of competitive sealed proposals for the purchase of new engines, transmissions, generator and related gear for repowering the tour boat M/V Sam Houston. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have awarded grant monies to PHA pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program to repower the Sam Houston. The currently installed main propulsion engines, transmission and generator are the original equipment on the vessel and the grant funds will be used to purchase new, cleaner equipment to replace the old equipment. Repowering the Sam Houston will help reduce diesel emissions in the Houston-Galveston area. The vessel carries approximately 35,000 passengers per year and has done so for the last 51 years.

(Agenda K5) Commissioners will consider advertising and receipt of competitive sealed proposals for shipyard services for installation of new engines, transmissions, generator and related gear on the Sam Houston. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have awarded grant monies to PHA pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, National Clean diesel Funding Assistance Program to repower the Sam Houston. PHA is seeking authority to receive proposals for shipyard services to remove the old equipment and install the new equipment and test the operations of the vessel with the new equipment. The new equipment will extend the life of the Sam Houston for many years to come so that it may continue to provide excellent educational services to the Houston community.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS MATTERS

(Agenda M1) Commissioners will consider a resolution honoring the contributions of San Jacinto College District, selected by the Deer Park Chamber of Commerce Salute to Industry Committee as its 2009 Industry of the Year. The chamber requested that the port commission issue a resolution in support of San Jacinto College District, which is now in the 48th year of serving the citizens of East Harris County, Texas. The college began in 1961 with one campus and has grown to include three campuses, seven extension centers, a continuing and professional development division, distance learning, a dual credit program with local high school, an early college high school and an enrollment of more than 30,500 students each semester. The workforce needs of such an immense industrial complex have brought together a unique partnership between public and private stakeholders in the region. The district recently partnered with PHA and others to develop the International Maritime and Energy Center of Houston. The chamber will honor San Jacinto College District and its employees at a luncheon on November 19, 2009, at the Jimmy Burke Activity Center.

The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, there are more than 8,000 vessel calls at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage and second in overall total tonnage. The port authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. The second recertification of those facilities in 2009 included an extension for the state-of-the-art Bayport Container Terminal. PHA is the first port authority in the world to receive ISO 28000:2007 certification for Port Police and the perimeter security operations at both the Barbours Cut and Bayport Terminals. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com

To access the port's Web site photo gallery, please visit http://www.portofhouston.com/publicrelations/publicrelations.html and click the link for PHA Photo Gallery.

The Port of Houston Authority logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=720

Port of Houston Authority
Lisa Ashley-Whitlock, Communications Manager
  (713) 670-2644 
  Cell: (832) 247-8179
  lwhitlock@poha.com 
Argentina M. James, Director of Public Affairs 
  (713) 670-2568 
  Cell: (713) 306-6822
  ajames@poha.com