New London Utilities Board meets

The New London Municipal Utilities Trustees met in regular session on Feb. 5, 2026. They approved the agenda and the consent agenda. No one addressed the trustees in open forum. Reports were up next. Chairman Heater and the trustees have participated in an orientation of the water department. They went over the facilities, the equipment, the finances, the customers, and the data.

The wind turbine production was almost 5,000,000 kWh for 2025 according to Chairman Heater.

They next heard from the utility foreman Dave Ford. He listed for the trustees several items that were repaired or replaced over the month.

Ford reported that during the weekend of Jan. 24, MISSO required that they operate the diesel generators. They experienced minor issues with two of the four units, which prevented them from running at that time. The problems have since been resolved, and all generators are now fully operational.

Ford then explained that the community’s water usage is typically stable, but recently they have been treating a higher volume of water. He suspects there may be a leak somewhere in the system. Since they have been unable to locate it themselves, he has hired a leak detection company to investigate.

Ford shared that he has been communicating with WES Engineering about the spring maintenance for the wind turbine. They informed him that other communities with the same turbine model have experienced generator failures. As a result, the Trustees should be prepared to decide on the associated expense if a similar issue occurs here.

In new business, they approved the budget for fiscal year (FY) 2026-2027. The Trustees reviewed the audit report for FY 2025.

The trustees discussed the necessity of updating their 3-year plan. They will hold a Projects committee meeting and a building & equipment meeting before next month to begin this process.

The meeting adjourned at 2:10 p.m. The next regular utility board meeting will be March 5, 2026 at 1 p.m. at the City office.