From the Manager About the Winter Storm

We made it through the blizzard this winter with very few outages. I attribute this to the investment we make in your system each year. These investments include trimming trees, replacing cross arms, and replacing rotting poles. In fact, last year we spent almost one and a half million dollars doing these activities. You may not realize the importance of this until we have weather conditions like we had on February 1st & 2nd. But it is these ongoing investments in maintaining our system that allows you to be warm and safe when the wind is howling and the snow is blowing.

We also invest annually in upgrading our aged facilities. Along with the activities of our own crews, we have entered into a contract with IES of Holdrege, Nebraska, to rebuild about 12 miles of old line. They will be starting work in early March in the Denmark area and work their way across the system to end up later this summer in the Batavia area. When they have completed their work, those sections of line will meet current codes and will be much better equipped to withstand Mother Nature. This will be the first step in a long-range plan to replace the approximately 300 miles of old line that was constructed in the 1950s and 60s.