CoServ invests in tomorrow with new technology and equipment
One is an integral part of CoServ’s smart grid, allowing us to restore power faster while increasing safety for the linemen who work on the lines.
The other digs deep holes for the concrete power poles that hold up many of the CoServ lines that help deliver reliable power to our Members.
What do they have in common?
They demonstrate CoServ’s commitment to Investing in Tomorrow.
CoServ is installing new advanced reclosers on the grid that can be controlled remotely by system operators and can do some tasks automatically. In addition to increased safety, the reclosers can narrow down the source of an outage, pinpointing where crews need to go. It also allows small sections of the power lines to be isolated so crews can work more safely on the lines.
CoServ strives to make improvements as our system adds thousands of meters each year, and every piece of smart grid technology added to the system is another step toward increasing reliability.
“These advanced reclosers help CoServ reduce the number of Members impacted by outages and increase our field personnel’s ability to identify the location of the outage to get service restored to the Members impacted,” said Tommy Nylec, Director of Engineering.
CoServ consistently ranks among the most reliable utilities in Texas with a SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) score of 31.2 in 2022. That means the average Member was without power for about 30 minutes. Put another way, Members had reliable electricity 99.994 percent of the time!
Historically, CoServ has hired contractors to dig the holes for larger concrete poles because we didn’t have a specialized digger in our fleet.
In May, CoServ added a new Watson Model 1100 hydraulic digging truck that can easily dig a hole five feet wide and nearly 40 feet deep if needed.
“You have to have the right tool for the job and that’s exactly what we have now,” said Andrew Pierce, a CoServ Operations Manager. “That’s the sole purpose of this machine. It’s a beast when digging in the rock because of the teeth on the auger. It’s a very nice piece of machinery that we needed badly.”
Investments like advanced reclosers and the Watson Driller will pay dividends in the future in the form of safe, reliable and affordable electricity for our Members.
Utilities have used reclosers for years to isolate circuits and automatically switch power back on after a fault. The high-tech reclosers CoServ is deploying are part of the larger “smart grid” that communicates with CoServ’s System Operators and can reroute power from an alternate source, known as backfeeding, test for faults on circuits, or put the circuit on hot line tag remotely for the safety of our workers.