By Zac Bryant, Panhandle Rural Electric Membership Corporation general manager

    The common topic of discussion recently is if we are going to have a mild or brutal winter. We all have our ways of preparing at home and work for the upcoming months. Many of Nebraska’s public power districts and electric cooperatives have seen challenges with outages caused by high winds and tornadoes. I believe that one of the many benefits from your not-for-profit electric companies is the time, planning, and resources that go back into the infrastructure to prepare for these events, minimize outages, and shorten response times. These are tremendously important things that make us stand out from some other utilities.
    There are multiple preventive measures your local utility takes to invest back into the electrical system that create a more reliable sustainable system. Utilities typically use a contractor to evaluate a portion of the poles annually in their systems. There are ways to evaluate the poles including probing, sound testing, and sonar. The goal is to identify those poles that are reaching end of life or have been damaged. This can be from human, animal, or weather damage. The poles are prioritized by their condition, and this allows the company to plan and change them out before they fail. This is a great practice to minimize outages and interruptions and to plan and budget for system improvements.
    Line patrolling is also an opportunity for our employees to get out and get a visual inspection on our systems. The community and customers also serve as a valuable resource in reporting hazards they may see. Staying a safe distance and reporting these issues is especially important to maintain safety. Technology has evolved as most things with helping in line patrols. Thermal imaging is utilized to show problem areas. These are helpful in finding bad connections or failing apparatus that may not be seen from a visual inspection. Drones are used to get a bird’s eye view in line patrolling and troubleshooting. Drones offer an alternate cost-effective option to helicopters and airplanes.
    The variety of buckets, diggers, pickups, skid steers, etc., is crucial to have in a well-maintained reliable manner. This equipment is used in some of the toughest conditions to complete construction and maintenance of the system. Equipment is well maintained, serviced, and replaced to ensure a reliable fleet. The operators maintain an inventory of material and tools to perform their work.
    The biggest assets I believe we have is our members, employees, and communities. This past year we have seen overwhelming support to reach out and help our neighboring utilities. We send resources and support to neighbors and know we have the same in return. Mother nature will always give us challenges and, that is why we prepare for it. This reflects back to when electricity first came into rural areas by the people coming together. We will continue to welcome opportunities and challenges and together overcome them.