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LIVEWIRE | PAGE 3


Partnering to prepare (Continued)


CEO VIEW CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE


We’re proactively planning how to address the needs of our aging system while also meeting our members’ growing demand for electricity. The oil and gas industry is the primary reason sales continue to increase. In 2013, we purchased more than one billion kilowatt- hours of electrical energy.


ERIN MOORE, TCEC MEMBER SOLUTIONS COORDINATOR, TALKS TO KEITH SHADDEN, BEAVER COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR, DURING POWER RESTORATION EFFORTS IN JUNE 2011. EXTREMELY STRONG STRAIGHT LINE WINDS BROKE 18 TRANSMISSION POLES IN BEAVER COUNTY ON JUNE 28, 2011.


Harold Tyson, Texas County Emergency Management director, said, “Te reason we do drills like the one in Goodwell is so we can identify mistakes and correct them before they happen in real life. We may not catch everything but we have to train, plan and prepare. We’re thankful for their participation and support.”


TCEC provides annual financial donations to area fire departments, emergency medical services departments and emergency management departments. Te cooperative also built a special live line demonstration to show the dangers of electricity to emergency responders. A demonstration has been given in every county the cooperative serves: Beaver, Cimarron and Texas in Oklahoma as well as Morton County, Kansas.


“TCEC has been a willing partner in response and has participated from the most isolated event to widespread disasters within our area,” Keith Shadden, Beaver County Emergency Management director, said. “Tis would include everything from shutting off electricity during a structure fire to working non-stop to restore power as in past ice storms and straight-line wind events.”


While TCEC line technicians may respond to disasters as part of their day job, many of them are also volunteers for their local fire departments or emergency medical services teams.


“Te safety of our members and our employees is always our first priority in any situation,” Lyle Mathis, TCEC maintenance manager said. “In a large scale disaster like the training scenario in Goodwell, we would need to turn off power at the substation level to ensure the safety of everyone on the scene. People may be without power for a while in that situation but safety comes first. We’re happy to participate in local training efforts since safety requires a partnership between our crews and emergency personnel. Lives are on the line.”


TCEC offers safety presentations to local civic and community groups as well as emergency personnel. To request a presentation, email info@tcec.coop. n


As we plan for the future, we continually look for better ways to serve our members safe, reliable and affordable energy. For example, we’ll soon be installing some ductile iron poles near Walmart in Guymon to see how they perform in our area as compared to wood poles. Iron poles are proven to improve reliability since they’re not susceptible to wildfires. Iron poles also reduce maintenance costs since regular pole inspection and treatment is not necessary.


At the same time, we’re using fiberglass cross arms on the iron poles to eliminate issues with hardware coming loose over time as wood expands and contracts.


Our substation technology is complex and we require reliable communication between the substations and the office as well as between the substations themselves. To help with this, we recently completed installing a new radio system. We are looking at additional options such as connecting the substations to PTCI’s fiber network where possible.


Because we are member-owned, TCEC invests in its system to better serve you. Improving the quality of life for our members through safe, reliable and affordable electricity is our goal. Because we don’t answer to distant shareholders, we base our decisions on what is in the best interest of our membership today and in the future. We’re planning for tomorrow, not just today. n


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