2021 POWER Year in Review

POWER ENGINEERS YEAR IN REVIEW

CONTENTS

BOARD CHAIR MESSAGE

For the past two years, I have thanked each of you for your contribution to POWER’s continuing success story, and this year I want to do that again. 2021 didn’t come without challenges, but instead of hitting an ‘easy’ button, each of you stepped up to the plate in big ways.

There is example after example of our employees making a difference every day. From the parents who worked 2-3 hours in the morning before their kids got out of bed and then another 4-5 hours after their day was over, only to get up the next day and do it all over again. To the roommates who share the kitchen table as a workspace and then go to the local coffee shop when one of them must take a conference call. Employees both new and experienced went the extra mile throughout the year to make sure designs, drawings, and documents were delivered on time. I want you to know that your continued dedication and sacrifices didn’t go unnoticed.

As your Board Chair, I get the opportunity each year to write this letter and update you on how we are remaining focused on our best-inclass corporate governance. This year there are three things I want to specifically call to your attention.

The first being what happened when our CEO, Bret, resigned in July. Thanks to the plan that was in place in case of an unexpected change in leadership, our company was able to continue thriving through change, which isn’t an easy feat. The courage displayed by Jim in immediately assuming the CEO role was nothing short of inspirational. His steady and

confident leadership, combined with our strong sense of teamwork, allowed us to remain focused on the common goal of continuing to do good work while having fun and staying profitable.

Another change that is currently in progress is adding a candidate to fill our open board seat. We modified our bylaws to allow for a 3rd outside board member to address board diversity and help create a smooth transition for our long-time board members. We are excited for the new perspectives this individual will bring to the table.

The final thing I want to mention is a responsibility we take very seriously as a board and that is to constantly evaluate different capitalization structures. We do this to ensure that as an organization, we are set up for long-term success and that we are allowing shareholders and future shareholders to succeed along with us.

A year like 2021 offered a window into the character of POWER Engineers, and the view provided by this window should make all of us very proud to be a part of POWER. Thank you once again for your contribution to POWER’s continuing success story!

Ron Carrington

A year like 2021 offered a window into the character of POWER Engineers and the view provided by this window should make all of us very proud to be a part of POWER.

RON CARRINGTON, P.E. BOARD CHAIR AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

Ron Carrington originally joined POWER in 1990. He has managed some of POWER’s largest clients and their contracts, and has added greatly to the resumé of the Power Delivery division and its reputation within the industry. In 2017, Ron received the Gene Wilhoite Innovations in Transmission Line Engineering Award from ASCE. Ron holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

BRUCE TRUXAL GENERATION BUSINESS UNIT DIRECTOR

Bruce Truxal joined POWER in 1990. Throughout his tenure at POWER, Bruce has served in the Facilities, Generation, and Field Services divisions managing design projects and construction execution. He was previously on the Board of Directors from 2008 through 2010 and the Non-Traditional Services (NTS) Committee. Bruce is currently on the Audit Committee. He has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Wyoming.

Mr. Haynes joined POWER Engineers in 2003. As POWER’s Facilities Division Manager, he was instrumental in building one the largest food and beverage engineering service providers in the U.S. In 2015, Jim took on the role of Chief Administrative Officer. He was appointed CEO in 2021. Jim holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology and graduated from the Management Institute at the University of Minnesota. He is also a Northwestern University Kellogg Executive Scholar.

Tim Ostermeier joined POWER in 1989 and has served in various roles including COO, Division Manager, Risk Manager and Project Manager. He was a key team member in developing and implementing Power Delivery Division’s national expansion strategy. His industry experience includes design, project management, construction management and EPC roles in the power delivery market. Tim holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering (Power option) from South Dakota State University.

DON EVANS, P.E. OUTSIDE BOARD MEMBER

Gerry Murray joined POWER in 2010 and has helped grow and diversify the company’s power plant engineering capabilities. He has over 30 years of power plant engineering experience, both overseas and in the U.S. Gerry has a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from University College Dublin, a master’s degree in Energy Conservation and the Environment from Cranfield University, and has completed the Stanford School of Business Executive Program.

Don Evans joined POWER as an outside board member in 2010. He has served as a senior-level executive in the engineering and construction industry, which includes a long and successful career at CH2M Hill. Don also brings significant board leadership to POWER. Don has an B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering and an MBA, all from Stanford University.

SHAYNE WRIGHT, P.E. POWER DELIVERY DIVISION MANAGER

Shayne Wright joined POWER Engineers in 2004. He has helped manage interesting projects and large clients as well as POWER’s valued small accounts. He currently serves as Division Manager for Power Delivery’s Field Services teams and, along with others, champions POWER’s Safety and Human Performance Improvement initiatives. Shayne has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University and a M.B.A. from the University of Houston

MURLI TOLANEY, P.E. OUTSIDE BOARD MEMBER

Murli Tolaney joined POWER as an outside board member in 2010. Murli’s storied career includes many leadership roles—including Chairman and CEO of MHW Global from 1992 to 2001 and full time Chairman from 2001 to 2008. He has served in several business and board advisory positions. Murli has an AMP from Harvard University and both an M.S. in Environmental Engineering and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Kansas.

JIM HAYNES, P.E. PRESIDENT AND CEO

GERRY MURRAY, P.E. EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT –GENERATION

TIM OSTERMEIER, P.E. EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT –POWER DELIVERY

RON CARRINGTON

BRUCE TRUXAL

GERRY MURRAY

DON EVANS

MURLI TOLANEY

JIM HAYNES

TIM OSTERMEIER

SHAYNE WRIGHT

CEO MESSAGE

My Fellow Shareholders, 2021 was a testimony to the strength and perseverance of our team. Contrary to what we had hoped, we continued to face a number of pandemic-related challenges throughout the year. And once again, we came together to support each other in ways that were truly inspiring.

Financially, 2021 was a strong year for POWER Engineers, including our secondhighest ever income from operations (IFO, aka profit). We earned $87M of IFO on fee revenue of $490M last year compared to $106M IFO on fees of $471M for 2020. Our profit margin of 17.8% was, once again, much better than the 15.3% average for employee-owned companies in our industry.

Regarding the drop in profitability, we must remember that conditions in 2020 were very different from conditions in 2021. For example, in 2020, historically few of our team members took vacation. With thousands of hours of additional billable time, we achieved record profitability.

In 2021, this trend reversed, which was great and necessary—our team members needed to recharge. They deserved it. But it had the unintended consequence of negatively impacting our performance relative to 2020. In addition, there were other expenses that returned to our income statement in 2021, including travel to clients, training and conferences/tradeshows as well as operating costs associated with our partial return to office (RTO) effort.

Significant market factors at play in 2021 included an incoming administration that delayed spending millions of dollars on Government Services projects. Bad winter weather in the Southeast was responsible for some project delays in Environmental, and Generation continued to be negatively impacted by the market contraction for large fossil-fuel power plants.

These challenges aside, 2021 was a solid “year-after-a-record year.” This is a common trend at POWER. Our record-breaking years are typically followed by a period of settling in—a transition year. During this time, we rebuild backlog and prepare for another record year. And that is exactly what we saw as we ended 2021—a record backlog heading into 2022. This success did not come without continued sacrifice. After 21 months of working from home, some team members were showing signs of strain. Not being able to return to the office and see colleagues and collaborate in-person, even occasionally, was a disappointment to many.

In response, there was a great outpouring of support at all levels of the organization. People reached out in creative ways to listen, offer help and share ideas. Despite our physical separation, these shared struggles brought us together. I urge you to read accounts of these efforts in this report’s division and business unit stories.

2021 also brought the unexpected resignation of Bret Moffett, our former CEO. Thankfully, the board’s Succession Committee

Once again, we came together to support each other in ways that were truly inspiring.

had approved a plan years ago for just such an event, and I stepped into the role.

We are very fortunate to have an outstanding management team and board of directors that help guide and support me in this new position and I wish to convey my sincere gratitude to them.

Executive leadership transitions are generally few and far between at POWER, and we saw this as a tremendous opportunity to step back and reflect on where we had been, and more importantly, where we wanted to go. As longtime consultant to POWER, Ray Kogan, once said, “We didn’t come this far just to come this far.” There was a consensus among our most senior leaders that, in many ways, our success had allowed us to grow a bit complacent. We risked not leaving something great for future generations.

We agreed we needed a new vision and values that would stoke the same ambition that drove our predecessors. We are stronger together, and it is time to see ourselves as one team of multiple, complementary capabilities—not multiple businesses operating semi-autonomously. We need to focus on a One POWER Team.

We started developing our new vision by asking some fundamental questions—what does our whole team have in common? Where are we headed? What do we aspire to achieve? If we all clearly understand and believe in the answers to these important questions, then we will be better aligned to pursue our goals as one team. And we’ll increase our odds of

achieving them.

It is this idea of a One POWER Team that drove the decision to create our Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer positions. We want to unify our businesses under senior leaders that are focused on the whole company, finding common strategies, surfacing common goals, and making sure we are ALL aligned toward achieving them.

The good news is that we have recently won some great One POWER projects like Greenlink Nevada, Raven SR and Turlock Irrigation District. You can read more about them in this report.

Our hope is that we will soon leave this pandemic behind us. We have an exciting future ahead, the absolute best team in this business, and a shared vision to light the way. Finally, I want to thank all of you—my fellow partners—for never forgetting that our purpose is, and always has been, to Do Good, Have Fun, and Build Success.

Jim Haynes

In honor of Heidi Kelly 1973 – 2022

CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, COO

HOLGER PELLER*

POWER DELIVERY DIVISION

DAVID LESLIE

GENERATION DIVISION

GERRY MURRAY

FACILITIES DIVISION

JOHN GUNST

ENVIRONMENTAL DIVISION

MARIA GOU

GOVERNMENT SVCS DIVISION

DOUG BAKER

ADV. UTILITIES SOLNS DIVISION

BART KOENIG

VISUALIZATION SVCS BU

DANIEL KRANCER

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CEO

JIM HAYNES

CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER, CSO

RANDY GRASS*

CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER

MARK MARY

OPS MARCOM

JANET METZGER

OPS CORPORATE SVCS

JENNIFER JUNKER

OPS APPLIED TECH

JASON PFAFF

* Two New Senior Leadership Positions (and their direct reports)

alignment is the goal

In 2021, POWER created two new leadership positions: Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer.

Together with the CEO, CIO, CHRO, CFO and General Counsel, these senior leaders focus on the whole company, finding common strategies, surfacing common goals, and making sure we are all aligned in achieving them as One POWER Team.

2021 CORPORATE REORGANIZATION

GENERAL COUNSEL ANDY RATZKIN & GREG REED

CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, CIO KEITH HORN

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, CFO CHUCK KEMP

GOOD GOVERNANCE BUILDS SUCCESS

When it comes to protecting the best interests of shareholders, employees, our communities, and the company, POWER’s Corporate Governance practices and processes approach levels typically found at much larger firms.

Good governance can be seen in how well our board operates; how we maintain transparency; how we avoid conflicts of interest; and how we protect POWER’s earnings.

oversight and guidance

For example, our Board of Directors provides oversight and guidance to our Management team, which is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the company. Each of the Board’s seven subcommittees serves a specific purpose:

» Audit Committee hires outside consultants to perform the yearly audit of our accounting and finance practices. It also hires an outside consultant to review our taxes.

» Compensation Policy Committee focuses on developing, managing and reviewing the goals and objectives of the President and CEO as well as compensation for senior executives.

» Governance Committee has oversight of all board subcommittee charters and execution plans. It also interviews and recommends, to the board, committee and board candidates as new members are needed.

» Risk Management Committee oversees management’s approach to risk assessment and management, policies, execution and transparency.

» Stock/Capital Committee recommends, to the board, the annual adjustment to POWER’s share value utilizing data from qualified financial valuation advisors. It also recommends annual allocation of POWER’s earnings (retained, bonus, dividend, 401(K), Foundation) to the board.

» Succession Committee identifies potential candidates for replacement of the President and CEO positions and leads a process for successfully accomplishing this succession.

» Transition Committee is focused on monitoring the transition of POWER’s stock and the smooth transfer of capital from enduring owners and POWER to exiting owners.

The Board’s guidance spans the breadth of POWER’s work. Members are consulted and often their experience is valued by our management team.

new

esg

framework In 2021, we created a new corporate position focused on ESG—Environmental, Social and Governance—performance and reporting. ESG is based on the principle that a company is most valuable when it contributes to the sustainability of its communities and ecosystems.

The data supports that companies last longer and perform better when they focus on solid corporate governance, real equity and inclusion in the workplace, and environmentally sustainable operations. ESG provides a new framework to help POWER achieve what we’ve been working for from the beginning: building a successful firm that can stand the test of time.

your role These are a few examples of a well-governed company. As a shareholder, good governance helps manage your risk and protect your investment. You can help tremendously by taking time to learn more about our governance processes and then explain them to your colleagues when questions arise.

Visit Shareholders Resources on POWER Portal to learn more.

ENGINE OF EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP

TOP SHAREHOLDER RESPONSIBILITY

Understand how POWER is governed. Be a proactive, positive company voice to team members who have questions or need information.

OUR VALUES DRIVE OUR BEHAVIORS

OUR VALUES AND CULTURE

DETERMINATION

Never Giving Up COLLABORATION Working Together

EMPATHY Sensitivity to Others

RESPONSIBILITY Taking Ownership

EXCELLENCE Outstanding Results

INTEGRITY

RESPECT

Always Taking the High Road

How We Treat One Another

stay grass roots Keep the autonomy and job freedom alive and well.

dream it. achieve it Stay true to our vision; imagine new things. Then make it happen!

be flexible Don’t manage too tight and always be willing to adapt to changing needs.

celebrate our differences

We’re all unique. Appreciate each other’s strengths. Accept each other’s flaws.

be transparent Keep an open-door policy, make sure employees have access to senior management, and communicate.

work as a team Interpersonal relationships are the key to our success.

take action Stay focused on clients; don’t let yourself get bogged down into policy and procedure debates.

learn stuff Stay inquisitive and change when there is a better way to do a thing. Mistakes are a chance to learn.

create experts Give people the opportunity to become gurus.

quality wins clients High quality is one of our differentiators. Take pleasure in the work and do it well.

share our success It’s not about personal enrichment and advancement. It’s about helping others succeed.

OUR BEHAVIORS CREATE OUR CULTURE

INVESTING IN OURSELVES

POWER invests a portion of its profits in people, processes and technology.

Training/Career Development

» Delivered over 57,000 hours of training, virtually and online

» Awarded nearly 1,200 continuing education units (CEUs)

Online Educational Platform

» Invested $350,000 over the next three years for online courses from LinkedIn Learning

Tuition Benefit Program

» Partnered with University of Arizona Global Campus to offer tuition savings for team members

Profit-Sharing

» Made an extra $1,500,000 contribution to the 401(k) on top of employee matches

POWER Foundation

» Donated another $1,000,000 to the POWER Foundation

Dependent Scholarships

» Awarded 44 scholarships to employee dependents

Home Office Supply Process

» Ordered over $444,000 of supplies for 1,650 team members

Employee Engagement

» Invested $222,000 in Glint, a platform for employee engagement measurement and improvement

Team Recognition

» Presented POWER Team Awards to 5 teams

Protecting Employee/Client Data

» Added Sophos Managed Threat Response (MTR) for 24/7 protection against cyberattacks

» Successfully completed the ISO 27001 information security audit and achieved certification

New ERP

» Went live with Dynamics HR Employee Self-Service and Manager Self-Service

» Completed benefits selection process in Dynamics HR

Regional Datacenters (RDC)

» Constructed RDC lab and successfully completed critical business application testing

Communications Platform

» Replaced Skype with Microsoft Teams, saving $1,000,000 over 5 years

Emergency Notification System

» Launched Preparis to communicate office closures and provide safety information

Great people, smart processes and the right systems will ensure we maintain our competitive edge.

For 2021, Ops anticipated a year of transition as teams worked hard on key initiatives for POWER’s future. What the division did not expect was how big a role COVID would still play.

flexible work styles

For example, Ops assumed travel and training costs would return to pre-COVID levels by July. But high infection rates pushed our plan, and many of our clients’ plans, to start re-opening offices into summer. Then the delta variant hit. The result: about 80% of POWER continued to work from home (WFH) for the remainder of the year Our WFH experience proved we could transition to a more flexible workforce though. So, Ops drove the adoption of 4 new “work styles” that ranged from full office to full WFH and two options in between. Fewer team members in our offices reduces POWER’s real-estate footprint, but it also requires a reimagining of our workspaces. With help from a third-party consultant, this design process was kicked off with an employee survey to help identify what we value most in the workplace.

POWER everywhere POWER

Everywhere is the ability to work outside of an office without sacrificing functionality. To achieve this vision, we realized that a new IT infrastructure was required. So, an architecture for Regional Data Centers (RDC) was designed to optimize data transfer rates. In 2021, Ops IT built an RDC lab, loaded it with critical business applications, and successfully tested it. And while the MC approved moving forward, COVID-related supply chain issues pushed equipment deliveries out. When it fully comes online in 2023, RDC will be POWER’s second largest investment ever.

dynamics ERP Another transition in progress is POWER’s move to Dynamics ERP. The combined implementation team includes both Ops and production experts, and at times approaches 100 people. For 2021, POWER went live with the HR module for Open Enrollment. However, the bulk of the year’s work was still behind the scenes as full functionality will not be delivered until later in 2022. This key initiative helps POWER streamline business processes, gain better business insights, and supports our purpose to Build Success.

CEO transition

An unplanned CEO departure midyear led to the Board appointing POWER’s CAO to fill the vacancy. Everyone in Ops stepped up to the challenge of continuing to execute their business plans and make critical decisions without a full-time CAO. It was the division’s finest hour in many ways. Cost avoidance associated with another year of WFH contributed to the division beating its plan for its three key measures of performance. Its overarching goal—to scale more slowly than the firm, while providing the same or greater level of service—was achieved. Even though COVID continued to be a threat, Ops steadfastly stayed true to its mission to protect POWER and support ongoing investment in our future.

Operations (Ops) is what POWER calls its support or “back-office” functions. It’s a team of teams with a shared responsibility: To keep the firm safe and enable earnings growth.

DIVISION

POWER DELIVERY

“I was really proud of how the team showed empathy and support in the face of another year of the pandemic. We made helping each other a top priority. And together, we figured out more flexible ways to successfully get the work done.”

–-Holger Peller, Executive Vice President

mutual support Both COVID variants and tightened CDC guidelines interfered with POWER’s plan to return to the office by midyear. The prospect of creating a new hybrid work environment was missing its chief component: a significant return of employees back in the office. As a result, many of us had to deal with disappointment and anxiety.

Power Delivery buckled down and adapted its management style to address these stressors. For example, increased video communications from the BUD level helped bring teams together to share ways to better focus on clients and deliver projects. Support efforts went beyond management, as individuals took the initiative to create blogs and forums to exchange personal stories as well. Topics ranged from the unique challenges of WFH with small children to tips on how to beat the blues during the pandemic.

This theme of empathy—combined with a willingness to create a flexible WFH solution for everyone—strengthened relationships and brought people together in new ways despite the physical separation.

leveraging tech In 2021, Power Delivery took some important first steps in leveraging new technologies to gain efficiencies. The division created technology teams and developed new tools for each of its engineering business units. Throughout the year these teams worked to first establish common terminology and thought processes so

ideas could be shared across groups. Power Delivery also positioned itself stronger in the “Grid Edge” market, which includes the technologies like DER, ADMS and others that are advancing the transition to the next-generation grid. Marketing teams made a great start in 2021 with content that will be followed up by adding more Power Delivery resources for support, both in project management and in execution.

focus on talent Rolling into 2022, Power Delivery continues to enjoy a large backlog of both steady Master Service Agreement (MSA) work and large, complex transmission projects like Greenlink Nevada (see sidebar). The division also continues to successfully broaden the base of these MSA contracts by adding Program Management Services, PTE pre-commissioning work and other services.

Surprisingly, nearly every one of the division’s clients is asking for even more help. The decarbonization megatrend is projected to drive utility spending and Power Delivery’s workload for years to come. Hiring and retaining great talent has never been more important. Power Delivery plans to focus on the continued education and growth of its people during this pandemic/hybrid/remote work transition.

New styles of mentoring, more training, and great career development opportunities will be key to continued success in 2022 and beyond.

2021 was another strong year for Power Delivery. One of the division’s top accomplishments was to increase staff to support its ever-growing backlog. It also successfully embarked on a new initiative to leverage technology to improve efficiency and ultimately increase profitability.

And while continued work from home helped lower the division’s expenses, it also amplified concerns of remaining disconnected from our clients and each other.

POWER DELIVERY FEATURED PROJECT

CASE STUDY

CLIENT NV Energy

LOCATION Nevada

INDUSTRY Power Delivery

In 2021, POWER was awarded Greenlink Nevada, a planned $2.5B program consisting of approximately 700 miles of 525 kV and 345 kV transmission line, and new and expanded substations.

It’s the utility’s largest high-voltage transmission project in Nevada and among the largest in the West. According to NV Energy, Greenlink Nevada will transform the state’s clean energy landscape, enabling the development of 5,000 MW of renewable energy, and increasing reliability.

Financially, it is a massive win—the biggest services project POWER has ever executed. The competition was fierce, but our cross-divisional team put together an extremely well-played middle game.

For example, Environmental won a constraints study by strategically bidding low on the e-auction to position POWER for more follow-on work. The team ramped up and showed NV Energy’s engineering team their

expertise, quality, and responsiveness. Their performance led to the direct-award of the next phase of the routing and siting, which included a bigger role for Power Delivery’s transmission line engineering team.

After almost 24 months of this dedicated, intense middle-game work, the combined team learned they were successful in positioning POWER’s full suite of Power Delivery and Environmental Services, including POWER360, program management services, and construction management services. Plus, Power Delivery will be executing the substation work using Building Information Modeling (BIM). Congratulations to the team for an incredible win that promises to keep us busy for the next 10 years!

GREENLINK NEVADA TRANSMISSION PROJECT WIN

INDUSTRIES SERVED

» POWER DELIVERY

» POWER GENERATION

» RENEWABLES AND STORAGE

» GOVERNMENT

» OIL, GAS AND PETROCHEMICAL

» INDUSTRIAL AND MANUFACTURING

POWER GENERATION

“These big career-building projects were inspiring for all those who worked on them. What they were able to achieve with their clients and teammates was something we should all be proud of.”

in construction The division had three high-profile power plants that it designed under construction or in commissioning throughout 2021. Generation provided field support for all three of these “career-building projects.”

At 1875 MW, the Guernsey project is the largest combined-cycle plant in construction in the U.S. The Canadian IPL petrochemical complex project is one of the largest cogeneration projects in North America. And the Naval Station Guantanamo Bay microgrid is the largest base project POWER has executed for the U.S. Navy.

Impressively, for such complex designs, there were very few errors or omissions—a testimony to the team staying engaged during the pandemic and delivering quality designs on-time and on-budget.

in the marketplace Generation did not see any new, large combined-cycle opportunities in 2021, as the emphasis was on large solar, BESS and wind projects. However, many utilities started to recognize the need for generation capacity to address intermittency associated with renewables.

And since large combined-cycle plants are increasingly difficult to permit and finance, utilities turned to more basic simple cycle peaking plants that are designed to come online quickly to “firm up” the grid.

Unfortunately, peakers require one-third the level of design effort of a combined cycle plant. So, the trend of decarbonization, as it plays out in the renewables space, results in fewer billable hours for Generation.

rightsizing the business

To address this deficit, the division right-sized its multidiscipline staff in 2021. Over 70% were able to be transferred within POWER, moving to Environmental, Government Services, Facilities and Power Delivery. The division did its best to treat the remaining 30% with the utmost respect and care.

In addition to keeping valuable talent, another benefit of these moves is increased interdivisional collaboration. A great example is Generation’s CAD team, which is now multiskilled and flexible enough to help Facilities and Power Delivery with their design needs, as well as Generation’s.

moving forward

The outlook for 2022 includes more gas-fired peaking projects, both as OE and detailed designer roles. The division already has a great head start on this business, winning a peaking plant for Montana-Dakota Utilities and another in Northern Ireland, working for a sister company to contractor Gemma.

Investment in hydrogen also looks very promising. Even though POWER took second on the largest green hydrogen project in the world, it was able to get long-time client Mitsubishi to endorse the critical front-end engineering design work performed by Generation during the bid process. The FEED study adds to the division’s resume and will help position it for future hydrogen opportunities.

Realistically, Generation set an achievable profitability target for 2022 with plans to improve.

–Gerry Murray, Executive Vice President

2021 was a transition year for Generation. The division continued to adjust to evolving market conditions that are driving smaller, less labor-intensive projects. By November, Generation was back into profitability and trending towards a stronger 2022.

CASE STUDY

GUERNSEY 1875 MW

COMBINED CYCLE PLANT

CLIENT Gemma Power Systems

LOCATION Guernsey County, Ohio

INDUSTRY Power Generation

In 2021, the Generation Team provided field support services for the construction phase of the Guernsey Power Station (GPS), a POWERdesigned 1875 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle electric generating station.

Using state-of-the-art combined cycle technology and a dry (air) cooling system, GPS will be a cost-efficient, fuel-efficient plant that protects air quality and conserves water. It will also boost the local economy through job creation and tax revenue for the local community and schools. And it will produce electricity equivalent to the power needs of approximately one million homes.

At the time of its award, the $2B Guernsey project was the largest gas fired power generation project in construction in the U.S. In addition to $15M in design fees, this massive project also developed our people’s skills, our 3D design tools and closer collaboration across divisions.

2021 was an exciting time as construction status advanced to 80% by the end of the year. POWER continued its support of the project both in the home office and with engineers on site who provided immediate solutions to issues as they arose.

Project commissioning activities also ramped up, with energization of the POWERdesigned 230kV to 765kV collector yard occurring in September 2021, a significant project milestone!

INDUSTRIES SERVED

» POWER GENERATION

» RENEWABLES AND STORAGE

» GOVERNMENT

» OIL, GAS AND PETROCHEMICAL

» CAMPUS ENERGY

FACILITIES

“It’s exciting to see what is happening in Facilities. Our management team is the strongest it’s ever been. And with the full breadth of our design capabilities, we’re proving over and over that we can do it all.”

food & beverage Top client Conagra delayed or cancelled some of POWER’s projects this year. This occurred after they poured most of their capital spend into a single greenfield project with a competitor firm that saw significant cost overruns.

Partially offsetting this loss of revenue, the division scored a record year with two other food giants—General Mills and Nestlé. 2021 was also the year that saw four new companies make Facilities’ million-dollar client list: Treehouse Foods, Flagstone Foods, Grande Cheese, and Touchstone Pistachios.

industrial and chemicals One of Facilities’ long-term strategies has been to leverage the division’s core competencies into new markets. 2021 was the year Facilities totaled nearly 10% of its revenue in Industrial and Chemicals.

The client list includes Sigma-Aldrich (chemicals), Nutrien (fertilizer), Sidewalk Labs (engineered wood), Estée Lauder (cosmetics), and Micron (semiconductors).

Also in this group is Raven SR, a clean fuels company. Raven’s green hydrogen projects involve multiple new facilities that cook landfill waste to create natural gas that contains hydrogen, which is separated out for use in transportation vehicles (see sidebar). In addition to Facilities, the Raven projects provide opportunities for Generation, Environmental, GAM and Visualization.

In order to address these new markets and

keep them growing, Facilities started putting together a new chemical engineering team in 2021.

government services The U.S. Government is Facilities’ second biggest client. So, when the new administration put all project work from the previous administration on hold for review, the longer-than-expected delay resulted in half the spending in 2021 compared to 2020.

Team members who supported these largely international projects showed great dedication to making our clients successful. For example, each trip to Australia required a two-week quarantine inside a small state-run hotel room before stepping onto the job site.

resilience and strength

While 2021 started slow, the division finished strong.

In addition to delayed Conagra projects coming back in the 2022 plan and continued Raven SR work, Facilities won major building projects that will ramp up, including a marquee greenfield creamer plant for Nestlé, a Purina pet food line expansion, a Grande cheese plant expansion and more.

On the federal side, 2022 is also expected to be the biggest year ever for Government Services. Taken together, Facilities’ backlog heading into the new year is at a record high.

With strong, experienced leaders coupled with a full, multidiscipline architect and engineering design team, the division is poised for an amazing 2022.

–John Gunst, Facilities Vice President

Facilities enjoyed a very good year; its second biggest in terms of profitability. And while client priorities and national politics delayed some work, the division achieved a number of outstanding accomplishments.

FACILITIES FEATURED PROJECT

CASE STUDY

RAVEN SR GREEN

HYDROGEN FACILITIES

CLIENT Raven SR LOCATION California

INDUSTRY Renewables and Storage

When Raven SR, a waste-to-fuels company, wanted to build its first commercial renewable fuels production facilities, they turned to POWER Facilities and construction firm Stellar J Corporation.

Raven uses a patented steam CO2/ reforming technology to convert organic waste into renewable (green) hydrogen for commercial vehicle refueling stations. Raven’s systems can reduce landfill waste by up to 200 tons per day, converting it to nearly 10 tons of renewable hydrogen, enough to power around 200 heavyduty trucks or 1,250 passenger vehicles per day.

Early Facilities and Stellar J work included Front-End Planning services which provided Raven with a total installed cost estimate, budget tracking dashboard, and schedule for the overall project. POWER and Stellar J are currently working on completing the final engineering, design and fabrication of the

units for installation at two waste and material processing sites in San Francisco. The sites plan to be operational by summer 2022.

In 2021, POWER completed over a million dollars’ worth of work with Raven, including helping with the site and BOP (balance of plant) work for these two green hydrogen installations. In addition to Facilities, these projects provided opportunities for Generation, Environmental, GAM and Visualization.

Current Raven plans are to spend about $10M to possibly $20M a year with POWER as they build more of these facilities. As our first big green hydrogen project, this is very exciting news!

INDUSTRIES SERVED

» FOOD AND BEVERAGE

» POWER GENERATION

» GOVERNMENT

» RENEWABLES AND STORAGE

» AGRIBUSINESS

» OIL, GAS AND PETROCHEMICAL

» INDUSTRIAL AND MANUFACTURING

» CAMPUS ENERGY

ENVIRONMENTAL

“I am really proud of the teams that organically came together to help take care of each other. It was inspiring to see people reaching out, continuing to communicate, and staying positive. It made a real difference internally and with our clients.”

–Maria Gou Environmental Division Manager

Strategies in support of this vision include expanding its geographic footprint, increasing brand awareness and collaborating on crossdivisional efforts. In 2021, Environmental began to see results on its cross-divisional collaboration with major project wins like Greenlink Nevada (see sidebar).

AEP continued to be the division’s top tier-one client and was responsible for a large amount of the division’s workload in 2021. Overall, Transmission and Distribution (T&D) accounts for about 60 percent of the division’s revenue year over year. Related work in renewables, system hardening, and environmental construction monitoring support continued to strengthen.

As a result of these and other efforts, year-end backlog was at an all-time high for the division.

expanding footprint A great 2021 success story was NextEra. Environmental already had a direct relationship with the major utility on the oil and gas side but for NextEra’s T&D, solar and wind projects, the division worked under Power Delivery. It was that good work and relationship-building that went towards Environmental winning a broad environmental contract with NextEra.

Environmental’s positioning included having a responsive, nationwide project team with vast regulatory knowledge, a flexible PM approach, and big-picture integrated environmental and engineering solutions. The 3-year Predetermined Source Contract allows the utility to direct award work for any of its entities across the country. As a bonus, NextEra is headquartered in Florida—one of the division’s two targeted geographic regions for strategic growth.

The other targeted region for growth is California, but a tight hiring market and major competitors aggressively pursuing acquisitions made for a challenging year. On the positive side, the division received extended work with top California clients including LADWP.

mutual success 2021 saw Environmental build on mutual success for our clients and our employees, following the team’s purpose statement that balances the drive to solve complex environmental and regulatory challenges with achieving clients’ business and environmental objectives.

With a global emphasis on sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance and reporting, Environmental is strengthening its position to help clients achieve their own ESG targets.

In 2021, Environmental also came together in creative ways to address the fatigue and anxiety that accompanied an unexpected second full year of work from home. For example, the division’s employee engagement committee organized various fun activities throughout the year to assist with staff engagement.

big year ahead In addition to a big year projected in the T&D market, strong prospective growth is also expected in the other markets that Environmental serves. The division provides permitting and compliance support for Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals, Generation, and general manufacturing sectors, including Cement & Aggregates. Opportunities around decarbonization for these markets include pollution control, carbon capture and more. With big projects on the horizon and more work than ever on the books, Environmental is positioned for a strong performance in 2022.

Environmental is in year two of a long-term vision to be nationally known for environmental excellence and to be a significant contributor to POWER’s overall success.

CASE STUDY

Greenlink Nevada consists of approximately 700 miles of 525 kV and 345 kV transmission line, and new and expanded substations, telecommunications, and distribution. It’s NV Energy’s largest highvoltage transmission project in Nevada and will enable the development of 5,000 MW of renewable energy.

With the full project win in March of 2021, POWER was selected to provide both Owner’s Engineer and Owner’s Environmental Scientist services. The Environmental team hit the ground running with the following permitting and technical support work in 2021:

» Permit strategy

» Final routing and siting studies

» Route options

» Plans of Development (PODs)

» Preliminary Construction Operation and Maintenance (COM) Plans

» Geotech POD

» Acquisition of priority land options

» Data management and deliverables in POWER360

The division’s Mapping and Analysis team had a big lift in 2021, including creating and maintaining a consolidated project overview map in POWER360 that is being used to facilitate data sharing and communications with the client on environmental tasks. Environmental field support activities kicked off with field verification of access routes to geotechnical borings in consideration of land jurisdictions, desert tortoise habitat and other constraints such as locked gates and fencing.

Field support will continue into 2022 as part of environmental compliance monitoring required by the BLM during the geotech investigations. Biological and cultural monitors will be accompanying the drillers at all times to provide clearance and monitoring of ground disturbing activities. These monitoring commitments allowed the BLM to fast track the NEPA review to meet project schedule.

INDUSTRIES SERVED

» POWER DELIVERY

» POWER GENERATION

» RENEWABLES AND STORAGE

» GOVERNMENT

» FOOD AND BEVERAGE

» OIL, GAS AND PETROCHEMICAL

» INDUSTRIAL AND MANUFACTURING

» CAMPUS ENERGY

» AGRIBUSINESS

GOVERNMENT SERVICES

With a new administration, Government services anticipated a delay in federal work. Typically, task orders don’t start flowing until after the first quarter. This time, the delay lasted through September.

When projects were finally released, the business unit was inundated. The result: Government Services underperformed for 2021 but managed to build an impressive backlog.

CONUS The Indo-Pacific Theater remains the primary concern for the Department of Defense (DoD). Four large task orders potentially totaling $25M worth of work over the next few years hit the business unit within a 6-week period in 2021. Three of those projects are in Guam and the other in Hawaii.

POWER was also invited to be a subcontractor in a joint venture for the Navy’s Shipyard Optimization Program (SIOP). Of the Navy’s four major locations, the team of WSP, Stantec, and Moffatt & Nichol was awarded a $500M, 5-year IDIQ for the two westernmost shipyards—Puget Sound and Hawaii.

global The business unit continued to position POWER for global work with the Millennial Challenge Corporation (MCC) by putting together a formidable team in 2021. POWER, along with subs Deloitte and CDM Smith, are pursuing a new MCC program to provide feasibility study-type work for the a id agency.

USTDA continued to be a very strong client with active projects pre-dominantly in subSaharan Africa. And USAID came out with an IDIQ called Global AE Infrastructure Services, or GAE III. Both CDM Smith and Greenpower Technology Team were selected for this program, and POWER is a sub to each.

federal

security services

As the prime on a $24M design-build project for the intelligence community, POWER faced all manner of challenges in 2021 (see sidebar). For example, managing the vaccine mandate was not only an issue with our subcontractors, but also with the client, who struggled to provide escorts to oversee construction.

infrastructure bill In 2021, a one trillion-dollar infrastructure bill was passed. To best position POWER to win electrical infrastructure projects, Government Services is focusing on Department of Energy contracting vehicles.

record year ahead

With its biggest backlog ever and several impending retirements, the business unit is facing a serious resource challenge. By taking a proactive approach, it was able to capitalize on three key transfers from Generation in 2021. 2022 is also shaping up to be a record year for fun projects for POWER around the globe!

FEATURED PROJECT

SCADA DESIGN-BUILD

CLIENT Confidential

LOCATION Confidential

INDUSTRY Confidential

When a mission-critical U.S. government facility underwent an obsolescence assessment, the results revealed system components and software had reached, or were nearing, the end of useful life.

Components included communications equipment, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), protective relays, metering equipment, air conditioners, servers, workstations, software and generator controls.

POWER was originally awarded the design contract for this project in 2016, but the client felt strongly that POWER needed to be involved with the multiple control systems integration to be successful.

So, the project was restructured as a $21.5M design-build effort and awarded to POWER as the prime contractor. This made it the largest single project ever for POWER’s Government Services Business Unit. After two change orders in 2020, the project is now valued at just under $24M.

In 2021, the construction phase of this major controls integration began with fulltime presence of POWER engineering staff

on site. The SCADA front end was delivered in the summer of 2021 and commissioning efforts for the medium-voltage substation and mechanical plants are scheduled for 2022. The vaccine mandates could have an impact on several of the subcontractors currently supporting the project. POWER requests weekly updates on COVID restriction guidance from the U.S. government.

GEOSPATIAL AND ASSET MANAGEMENT

GAM went into 2021 with cautious optimism. Sales and marketing had generated new leads and production had multiple signed contracts with top clients like LADWP, Jefferson County, PG&E, and Chelan PUD.

It turned out there wasn’t much need for caution. Steady work with good multipliers across all departments contributed to a record year for the business unit.

better delivery In 2021, GAM’s clients were getting back to work. And the business unit focused on new ways to better deliver its projects remotely. This included new tools and approaches for offsite discovery efforts, software installations, and training. In addition to helping clients be more successful, many in GAM put their hearts into several virtual events designed to build stronger relationships internally as well.

After making several key hires, GAM formed an ADMS services group and quickly added an ADMS service area and new content to powereng.com.

more

visibility

An outstanding effort went into positioning GAM as an “Energy Technology Consultant.” This included spending more time with key partners—Esri, Cityworks, and Trimble. Proactively driving those relationships increased visibility and produced more engagement and more work. The business unit’s production departments collaborated with its sales and marketing team to raise GAM’s market profile with multiple webinars, social media posts, conference presentations and white papers. A great example was the grid modernization webinar co-hosted with Power Delivery, which featured how Utility Network can feed systems like ADMS (Advanced Distribution Management Systems). The event was well-attended by clients and perspective clients as well as industry consultants and technology vendors.

By fall, product companies like Oracle, Survalent, and mPrest had reached out to partner with GAM to implement their ADMS and DERMS (Distributed Energy Resources Management Systems) products. Trimble, a $3B+ industrial technology company, asked the business unit to be their strategic energy solutions consultants in 2021 as well.

new positioning GAM is seizing the momentum it built in 2021 and renaming itself as the Advanced Utilities Solutions (AUS) Business Unit. This decision reflects the huge differentiator that POWER offers that is unmatched by any other GIS and AMS competitor: Transmission and Distribution Engineering.

POWER can provide utilities with holistic solutions and strategies to modernize their infrastructure, move to Utility Network or implement ADMS. With its bold, new identity, 2022 is shaping up to be an exciting year for AUS, its partners and its clients.

FEATURED PROJECT

TID GRID MODERNIZATION

CLIENT Turlock Irrigation District

LOCATION Central California

INDUSTRY Power Delivery, Renewables and Storage

Turlock Irrigation District (TID) provides the Central Valley of California with reliable irrigation water and power. But the addition of single-phase solar, battery, wind, and electric vehicle demands was creating a challenge for power quality to the balanced three-phase needs of the irrigation pumps.

The utility wanted to better analyze load flows and predict future conditions for its water and power networks. With POWER’s help, TID developed a grid modernization roadmap, which provided recommendations for modernizing its technology infrastructure.

Recognizing a digital twin (a virtual representation that serves as the real-time digital counterpart) could help operations better visualize and analyze the system, TID chose the ArcGIS Utility Network as the basis for the modernization of their systems. An extractor tool developed by POWER will allow the utility to easily obtain an extract from the GIS to import into third-party applications.

The ArcGIS Utility Network implementation provides TID with the necessary foundation to create integrations for their grid modernization needs. And with accurate, up-to-date data validating its engineering analysis software and other applications, the utility will have greater insight and visibility into the behavior of its systems.

VISUALZATION SERVICES

2021 was a tremendous success story for Visualization.

Coming into the year, the business unit had 7 months of downturn driven by client-related COVID issues. What happened next is a testimony to Visualization’s spirit of creativity and perseverance. The team came together in an all-hands-on-deck effort to make it through the downturn. This includes sharing resources and staying tight with their clients to be ready when they were.

conservative and entrepreneurial Shifting to a more conservative entrepreneurial position, the team members took on additional work instead of hiring. Some had to stretch, but all pulled together to support each other. The strategy worked. By March, the business unit’s utilization and profitability started climbing quickly and their clients were asking for more.

Viz pushed towards further success by bidding lump sum whenever possible. The approach paid off, as PMs added more than 20% to the overall profit. Another source was hosting fees for POWER-designed website and tools, which brought in an additional 5%.

The best side effect to all these efforts was the boost in morale for the entire team!

market highlights Visualization’s primary market is energy, but it’s always looking to grow its addressable markets.

In 2021, Viz released GeoVoice 2.0, a tool for utilities to collect public input and delivery consistent messaging. Originally designed as a custom application for each client, the new build is a universal framework that allows for modular apps and upgrades and opens lots of doors to work.

Visualization pursued opportunities in marketing. Cityworks, a POWER partner, hired the team to create an “About Us” marketing video and is currently developing a PLL product video. Visualization recently signed with CRH Healthcare to develop their YouTube ad campaign on Telehealth.

In addition to successfully meeting the needs of its clients, the team was also called upon to help POWER internally, supporting cross-divisional mutual success for Power Delivery, Applied Technology, GAM, Facilities, Government Services, Environmental, and more.

scaling up Poised for a big 2022, Visualization’s plan is to scale up, including leadership opportunities, adding a new PM, bringing in more talent, building interactive, and penetrating new markets.

While there are sure to be challenges, the team is now engaged more than ever to take its vision to the next level.

FEATURED PROJECT

COASTAL VIRGINIA

OFFSHORE WIND PROJECT

CLIENT Dominion Energy

LOCATION Virginia

INDUSTRY Power Delivery, Renewables and Storage

If approved, the Coastal Virginal Offshore Wind (CVOW) project would be the first offshore wind project owned by a utility—Dominion Energy. CVOW includes a 27-mile offshore portion connected to approximately 10 to 15 miles of new right of way onshore.

Looking for help with their stakeholder outreach program, Dominion turned to POWER Visualization once again. The team provided a program-level suite of tools and deliverables that were key to evaluating different routing options and negotiating with major stakeholders.

The Viz team pitched a GeoVoice website which was enthusiastically approved by the utility’s senior management. In total, some 50K+ invites were sent out to the public and stakeholders, asking them to comment on the project. The website received over 130K unique engagements. The team also helped with the permitting side of the project by creating over 50 photo simulations that were included in

the permit application. Finally, Visualization produced a video on the project that explains the rationale behind Dominion’s proposed onshore route selection and offshore energy benefits to the region.

The project is significant to POWER Viz because it positions the team for a potential wave of offshore wind projects anticipated in the coming years.

MISSION

As a responsive, flexible and progressive consulting services and engineering firm, we learn from our experience to create innovative solutions for fun, challenging and safe projects. Strong client relationships, new ideas, and deep technical skills are key to our clients’ and our own mutual success.