By Matt Fritz,

    Mutual aid in the electrical industry.  What is it?  How does it work?  Who gets the call?  Mutual aid is just what it sounds like, electric utilities helping each other out in a time of need.  In the event of a natural disaster or extreme weather event, Nebraska’s statewide organization, the Nebraska Rural Electric Association (NREA) will respond to the calls of the public power districts and electric cooperatives in the event of a natural disaster or an extreme weather event.  The NREA will help the utility in need coordinate and dispatch line crews, material, and equipment from neighboring utilities to the area’s that need assistance.  This can mean anything from here in Nebraska to anywhere in the United States.
    In my 20-year career in the electrical industry, I have seen many challenges that Mother Nature can cause.  Anything from tornados, straight winds, blizzards, ice storms, lightning storms, and floods.  When one or more of these disasters hit, widespread damage and interruptions are the result.  The most recent example of Mother Nature’s power is the May 2022 windstorm that affected a good portion of Nebraska.  In this storm trees were up rooted, grain bins collapsed, irrigation pivots flipped, building roofs blew off and transmission and distribution poles snapped all this causing widespread power outages.  Line crews and office personnel were standing by ready to take the call.  Some areas and districts were hit harder than others.  Those that could spare crews, material and equipment were not hesitant to provide what they can.  I like to call it neighbors helping neighbors.  When public power districts and electric cooperatives work together in this way, outage times shorten, and customer lives can return to normal.  As you all know, almost everything is affected when the lights go out.
    Public power districts and electric cooperatives are facing a new challenge when it comes to keeping the lights on in the event of a natural disaster.  This challenge is supply chain.  Transformers, poles, insulators, and aluminum conductors all have extensive lead times and inflated costs.  Some lead times are over a year out and costs have increased 200% on certain items.  This supply chain issue isn’t just in Nebraska, it is nationwide.  It is hitting all utilities hard when you never know what Mother Nature is going to throw at you.  It is going to take all of us working together to get through these challenges and meet the needs of our customers.  Here in Nebraska, our goal is to provide low-cost reliable electric service that our customers can be proud of.
    The next time you are watching the weather and things are looking bad, keep those employees at your local public power districts and electric cooperative in mind.  Know we are always working together to serve the needs of our customers now and into the future.  It really comes down to neighbors helping neighbors to keep the lights on.