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PAGE 2 | JANUARY 2013


Meet Michael Bushnell, substation tech BY JULIANN GRAHAM, Communications Specialist M


ichael Bushnell likes small towns and that’s what brought him to the Oklahoma


Panhandle and Tri-County Electric Cooperative after two years in the city of Independence, Mo.


“City life isn’t for me,” Bushnell said. “I like the small town atmosphere. People are so friendly here.”


Bushnell and his wife Colleen live in Hooker and both work at Tri-County Electric. They have been with the cooperative more than four years.


Michael Bushnell is a substation technician. He’s part of a three-man crew responsible for maintenance on the cooperative’s substations.


Substations take high voltage electricity from transmission power lines and convert it into lower voltage electricity that can be delivered over smaller distribution lines to members.


MICHAEL BUSHNELL WORKS ON A FAULTY REGULATOR AT THRALL SUBSTATION NEAR HOUGH. THE SUBSTATION CREW RECENTLY CHANGED OUT THE REGULATOR SO THEY COULD REPAIR IT.


As a substation technician, Bushnell helps keep the lights on for co-op members and he enjoys what he does.


“I like that my job is never the same two days in a row,” Bushnell said. “There’s something different every day.”


Bushnell grew up in Ulysses, Kan. Upon graduation from high school, he went to work for Wheatland Electric Cooperative in Garden City, Kan., where he stayed for six years. Bushnell worked his way from groundsman to journeyman lineman then moved to the substation crew. He took courses to be a substation technician and completed them. He then worked for a large municipal utility in Independence, Mo., as a safety and training specialist for two years.


The Bushnells have a daughter, Brylei, age 3, and are expecting a baby boy.


TUCKER SUBSTATION, LOCATED NEAR GUYMON.


“In my down time, I enjoy spending time with my family,” Bushnell said. “I also like to do construction work and welding.”


“Michael Bushnell is skilled and experienced,” said Zac Perkins, vice president of Corporate Services at Tri-County Electric. “We are proud to have him as part of our team.” n


BUSHNELL OPERATING THE CONTROLS TO A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT AT THRALL SUBSTATION NEAR HOUGH.


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