A brand-new year is upon us, and just as many of our members might, we at Medina Electric Cooperative have a few resolutions for 2024. With our core mission to exceed member expectations in everything we do, we have built goals to help continue to provide reliable electric service, enhance member experience, and make improvements as needed to serve our members and our communities.
We will continue the deployment of our new systemwide supervisory control and data acquisition equipment that helps monitor our distribution grid in real time to improve the performance of Medina EC’s system. Ongoing upgrades and maintenance are planned to improve meter and transformer equipment throughout Medina EC’s service area as needed.
We’re always looking for more impactful methods of communicating with members during outages. In 2024, eligible members will be enrolled in outage alerts via text message notifying members directly when their meter is no longer receiving power and when power is restored. We’re excited about this direct communication tool for members to be notified about outages impacting them. You can learn more about that on Page 23.
With over 150,000 power poles on our system, it’s important to continue to maintain a plan to inspect and replace old and damaged poles. Our goal is to inspect approximately 16,000 poles and we anticipate to replace over 2,000 poles that were previously inspected. By doing this, we can increase reliability and safety.
Targeting that same goal, our vegetation management plan for 2024 includes clearing approximately 550 miles of line. Regular trimming to direct growth away from power lines is essential to prevent outages and increase employee and public safety. We must plan for ongoing maintenance to keep up with the more than 9,911 miles of line on our system to ensure that vegetation does not impact the delivery of power.
In response to the rapid growth in our service area, particularly in Medina County, we’ve recognized the need to grow our service operations in the area. After extensive research, including the exploration of potential new locations, we’ve determined that our current Hondo service office on Highway 173 remains the optimal site to serve our members in Medina County.
Beginning this year, you will see preparation of the recently acquired land adjacent to our existing Hondo office as we prepare for an expansion on our site. The development plans include a new warehouse and a truck barn which will allow us to continue to serve the needs at the rate of growth we’re experiencing in this service region.
Finally, we expect to maintain our involvement in community outreach efforts. These contributions—whether through Operation Round Up, our Youth Tour, scholarships, Community Empowerment Program grants, food drives or donations to the many worthy organizations across our area—are the core of who we are and articulate our enduring Concern for Community. We resolve to keep doing our part to empower our community across a broad spectrum of charitable endeavors.
These are just a handful of the goals and plans we look forward to this year. With thoughtful attention to these resolutions, together we can make this year one of our best yet.
Until next time,
Trey Grebe
