Sam Houston Electric Cooperative completed several long-planned infrastructure improvements in 2025, including implementing new technology that will enable the Co-op to meet the needs of a growing service area.
“Many of these projects have been in the works for years,” said Ryan Brown, assistant general manager. “By the time our members see a project underway, it’s already gone through a detailed planning process that involves input from teams across the Co-op.”
Powering Communities
One of the year’s major achievements was the completion of two new substations near the Ivanhoe and Fred communities and a 20-mile transmission line between them.
“This new connection brings greater reliability to this area,” Brown said. “With these facilities now in operation, the Co-op’s crews can monitor and manage the system directly, ensuring faster response times and fewer disruptions.”
Construction of the Fred Substation was ongoing during the summer months. The addition of the Fred and Ivanhoe substations allows for more reliable service to members in the surrounding area.
A Sam Houston EC lineman adjusts the voltage setting on a padmount transformer during a voltage conversion.
Growth is evident across the Co-op’s territory, from expanding towns to small, yet steadily developing communities like Point Blank. To keep up with increasing demand in Point Blank, Sam Houston EC installed a larger substation transformer in the area.
“The older, smaller transformer was repurposed to help manage growth on the east side of Lake Livingston,” said Joel Colston, chief engineer. “The timeline to get a new substation transformer can be more than two years. Moving an existing transformer will serve the demand in the area, while making good use of equipment that still has many years of useful life left.”
At the S.W. Dorrell Substation on the southwestern side of the Co-op’s service area, another transformer was added to meet future demand while maintaining reliable service.
Smarter Systems, Stronger Grid
Behind the scenes, an unnoticed but powerful change took place: an upgrade to the Cooperative’s supervisory control and data acquisition system. The previous system had served members and Co-op employees in an exemplary manner for two decades, but new technology will give engineers and system operators more control and flexibility than ever before.
Ropes are hung and run through a series of cable pulley wheelsbefore transmission lines can be clipped in place on the nearly 20-mile transmission line connecting the Ivanhoe and Fred substations.
A.J. Hester, a Livingston lineman, climbs a pole to adjust the voltage setting on a pole-mounted transformer.
“The new system opens up possibilities we couldn’t have imagined before,” engineer Merek Brister said. “It gives us the ability to manage the grid in smarter, more efficient ways.”
The new system implementation will continue through 2026.
Double the Voltage, Half the Load
Sam Houston EC also made significant progress on voltage conversion projects, boosting lines from 7,200 to 14,400 volts in multiple areas including Caney Creek and Peach Creek.
“During a voltage conversion, we double voltage [on the line], so the load current gets cut in half,” Brister said. “We can use a smaller distribution line at higher voltage because there’s less current. The much more expensive alternative would be to do a reconductoring project where we install larger distribution lines.”
Darren Jennings, a Coldspring lineman, gives a thumbs-up as the voltage conversion continues progressing smoothly.
Looking Ahead
The work doesn’t stop there. In 2026, new distribution breakers will be added between the Security, Peach Creek and Caney Creek substations. This addition will pave the way for the feeder automation system, which automatically isolates outages and restores power to unaffected areas faster.
“Feeder automation is already in place in the far northern and southern portions of our service area,” Brown said. “In 2025, the system reduced the length of outages impacting members by nearly 1 million minutes. It accomplished this by reducing an outage to impact the fewest members within just seconds of an outage occurring.”
Through these efforts, Sam Houston EC continues to invest in reliability, innovation and resilience, building an electric distribution system ready to serve today’s members and the generations to come.
