One final key upgrade to get Kankakee’s hydroelectric plant back in operation received the go-ahead.

At Monday’s Kankakee City Council meeting, by a unanimous vote, the council approved a $362,100 contract for a Kankakee River water pumping system to be used to cool energy-producing turbines.

The upgrades at the Kankakee River dam will likely be made this year by Kankakee’s Glade Plumbing & Heating.

With this upgrade and with two turbines nearing installation, the plant could be producing electricity as soon as spring 2026, Mayor Chris Curtis said.

“We do have to have this for operation of all the turbines,” Curtis said.

The city was spending between $3,500 and $5,000 per month when the plant was in operation for Aqua Illinois to cool the generating pump bearings with water.

The hydro plant has been out of operation for four years, as it was last used in October 2021.

The city is investing about $2 million of recently sold bonds to restore all three of the turbines at the plant, as well as the location’s computer system and control panels.

Two turbines have been restored and will soon be in place, said Zach Newton, superintendent of Environmental Services Utilities, who oversees the asset.

The plant will likely go into service this spring, when river water is typically higher.

The hydroelectric plant has been out of the electric-producing business for several years due to equipment that no longer functions.

Curtis stepped up the effort to get the site back in service. The city invested about $600,000 in rehabbing two turbines. The third turbine, still in place at the hydro plant, will also be rehabbed.

Power generated from the hydroelectric plant is used by Kankakee to help power the region’s sewer plant.

Relying on power produced by the hydroelectric plant will save Kankakee an estimated $300,000 to $400,000 annually, rather than having to purchase power from ComEd.

The plant is located along the Kankakee River banks immediately north of West River Street and east of the South Washington Avenue bridge.