ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland Board of Public Works (BPW) approved a $9.985 million contract to continue the conversion of ECI’s woodchip-burning cogeneration plant to accept natural gas.

W.M. Schlosser Company Inc. of Hyattsville was the low bidder of the two received by Maryland Environmental Service (MES) which manages utilities at the Westover prison. This latest phase of the conversion process will construct modifications to the internal boiler and boiler room to include removing equipment no longer needed and the installation of equipment that will receive natural gas.

The facility also uses No. 2 fuel oil, which will continue to be accepted.

The work was advertised twice after an earlier solicitation resulted in a single bid. MES reached out to 31 firms, but the only other bid was from a Cherry Hill, N.J., company which bid nearly $2.34 million more than the one approved by the BPW at its May 11 meeting.