A new year brings a renewed focus on progress. At Medina Electric Cooperative, we’re committed to serving our members and empowering our community through reliable, affordable electricity. To achieve this, we’re investing in significant upgrades to our facilities and infrastructure, enhancing member resources, and optimizing our operations. These strategic initiatives will strengthen our infrastructure, improve service delivery and empower our members to thrive in the years to come.
For Medina County members who visit our Hondo area office, you’ve likely noticed ongoing construction. This work, which will continue through 2026, is part of a board-approved plan to build a new warehouse and remodel the office. As Medina County grows, so do our needs. A larger warehouse will accommodate our expanding fleet of trucks, poles and other equipment.
This portion of the project is expected to be completed mid-year. The office remodel will begin this year to optimize our workspace, allowing us to better serve our growing membership with a larger, more efficient team.
This year, we’ll launch a new phase of our 24/7 system operations center by implementing a state-of-the-art supervisory control and data acquisition system. This in-house solution will improve our operations by enabling faster fault detection, contribute to quicker restoration times, and provide advanced analytics to proactively identify potential issues. Additionally, by allowing remote control of circuit breakers and other equipment, we’ll enhance safety for our linemen, first responders and the public as well as improve overall system reliability. As we roll out this multi-year project, our members will experience the benefits of a more robust and efficient electric grid.
As part of our commitment to reliable service, we’ll inspect over 20,000 poles in 2025, replacing approximately 800 from our 2024 inspections that don’t meet our quality standards. With over 150,000 poles supporting our network, regular inspections and replacements are crucial for maintaining system integrity.
Additionally, our vegetation management program will clear nearly 500 miles of lines, mitigating risks from hazardous trees and other vegetation. This proactive approach enhances both reliability and safety.
To enhance member experience, we’re revamping our website for easier access to vital information, tools and resources. Additionally, we’re exploring platform integrations with our phone system to streamline the payment process while upholding rigorous PCI compliance standards to safeguard member data.
Another key project focuses on ensuring that our rates are accurate and provide a fair and equitable return. We’ll complete a full cost-of-service study to ensure that rates fairly allocate costs between rate classes and support operations as well as maintenance and capital improvements.
Our team works hard to consider the focus for each year as they develop business objectives and the strategies to achieve them. Some efforts are more visible—like construction of our new warehouse addition to our Hondo service office—and others happen behind the scenes—like implementation of new SCADA equipment to improve efficiency and expand our services. Our plans for the future are bold and ambitious, but they are targeted with our members in mind.
Until next time,
Trey Grebe
