Few things in life are as reliable as your electric service. On average, our customers have service more than 99.9 percent of the time.
We work hard to reduce the likelihood of outages and limit their effects.
Our efforts include:
Tree trimming: Trees too close to power lines are a major cause of outages for customers. To lessen the chances of tree-related outages, we trim trees along more than 5,500 miles of power lines each year. Tree-related outages were down 37 percent in 2015 compared to the average of the previous 10 years.
Keeping animals out: Animals like squirrels and raccoons can damage equipment like transformers. We install animal guards on all new equipment and on existing equipment where animals have caused problems.
Maintenance: We work year-round to inspect and maintain our electric delivery system, which includes almost 400 substations and almost 50,000 miles of power lines.
Inspections: Each year we conduct a thorough review of our distribution system. As part of that effort, we inspect 3,500 miles of power lines to find and repair problems before they lead to power outages.
New equipment: We’re installing thicker poles that are more resistant to storms, installing new power lines, building new substations and replacing aging equipment to provide a stronger, more reliable system.
Smart Grid: Customers are benefiting from the addition of smart grid equipment around our service territory. It detects power outages faster and can reroute power to restore customers even before repairs are made.