As potential storms approach, our committed team at Mor-Gran-Sou Electric Cooperative is prepared to respond quickly and safely, working to restore power as soon as conditions allow. In June, Mor-Gran-Sou Electric’s service area endured multiple storms with damaging straight-lined winds accompanied by hail and thunderstorms. During these conditions vegetation and buildings do not fare well and it will occasionally impact our system as well. While a cooperative can be prepared for storms and utilize technology to identify outages and damage, we would not be able to assess the full impact without our employees and members.
This weather instance was unique to Mor-Gran-Sou Electric due to multiple storms hitting the service area at one time. The high winds resulted in Mor-Gran-Sou Electric losing multiple transmission lines. Transmision lines are the power lines that deliver power to substations which then safely decrease power to be delivered to members from distribution lines. Mor-Gran-Sou Electric crews were dispatched around 8:30 p.m. CT on June 20 and began to evaluate the restoration process. Due to multiple transmission lines being damaged, crews began to work on back feeding members where it was possible to do so. Back feeding allows Mor-Gran-Sou Electric to power members from another substation, but this isn’t always possible in the case of excessive damage.
Due to the impact of the storm, Mor-Gran-Sou Electric crews along with Roughrider Electric Cooperative crews and contractors from 3C Construction and Synergy Powerline Construction worked into the evening on June 21 when they were eventually called in to rest. The crews were back at restoration early on June 22 with power restored to the entire membership by 7 p.m. CT that evening.
The impact to Mor-Gran-Sou Electric’s system included the loss of 19 69kv transmission poles, 13 single phase utility poles and nine 3-phase utility poles in various areas of the system. Eleven 115 kv H structures were damaged around the New Salem area. This impact was due to the high winds which caused poles to break and debris to fly into Mor-Gran-Sou Electric’s infrastructure causing disruptions and further damage.
When a storm like this has such a vast impact on the system, it is helpful to have additional eyes on the ground. Although members are urged not to approach damaged electrical infrastructure such as poles and lines it is valuable information that can be relayed to the cooperative. This additional information helps the operations department make informed decisions about the restoration process and allows crews to know what materials to bring to conduct repairs.
We understand that when a storm hits our service area, it impacts everyone from homes, businesses and operations. It is our top priority to restore power back to members in a safe and efficient manner. We are grateful to have understanding members who make these tasks a bit easier from reporting power outages to lending a helping hand to crews in the field. Thank you all once again for your patience and assistance as we worked to navigate the impacts of this storm.
