Our team at Magic Valley Electric Cooperative is always looking ahead, exploring ways to innovate and utilize new technologies to improve our services. As our nation increasingly relies on electricity to power the economy, keeping the lights on has never been more critical. We’re committed to powering—and empowering—our community at a cost local families and businesses can afford.
So, how are we working to ensure reliable and affordable power while adapting to a changing energy landscape and our community’s evolving needs?
One critical component of reliable power is the mix of energy resources used to generate the electricity that keeps the lights on across our community. You may not realize it, but MVEC doesn’t generate electricity. Instead, we purchase it from our energy provider, and from there, we distribute it to homes and businesses throughout our community.
We’re increasingly using more electricity generated from renewable energy sources. However, we still depend on a diverse energy mix to ensure reliable power is available to our members whenever they need it.
In addition to managing a reliable energy mix, MVEC is using technology to enhance our local grid, limit service disruptions, and improve outage response times.
Advanced metering infrastructure technology, or AMI, enables two-way communication between the co-op and consumers. In the event of a power outage, AMI helps pinpoint the exact location of the outage and can even analyze damaged or tampered meters. AMI helps us save money with real-time data and ultimately improves our community’s power reliability.
Proactive tree trimming is another way we limit service disruptions. Scheduled trimming keeps power lines clear from overgrown limbs likely to fall. Drone inspections of lines and vegetation have allowed us to reduce labor and equipment costs while bolstering reliability. Through small drones, we can accurately monitor the health and growth of trees and identify potential problems.
As technology advancements become more accessible, we anticipate using advanced mapping software to maintain the environment better while providing more reliable service.
One of the best methods for improving our services to you is monitoring trends and leading practices from other electric co-ops in Texas and across the country. Learning from other co-ops is one of the many benefits of the cooperative business model because, for us, it’s about cooperation, not competition.
Rest assured, MVEC will continue working to provide the reliable, affordable electricity you expect and deserve—for today and tomorrow.
