Each year, our operations and engineering team diligently compiles a work plan to improve our system’s reliability. Projects are included in the plan for various reasons, from aging infrastructure to technology upgrades or alignment with the cooperative’s long-term goals.
One project in this year’s work plan was installing supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) technology in the Lark, McLaughlin and Solen substations located in the southern half of our system.
SCADA technology helps staff access, monitor and control Mor-Gran-Sou Electric Cooperative’s system from remote locations. This allows for enhanced service across the area for isolating issues, outage detection and enhanced safety.
When an issue is detected, SCADA relays an alert to the operations team at the cooperative. The operations team is able to provide line crews with detailed information about where the issue is located versus patrolling until the issue is found. The cooperative is also able to collect historical data, which is a key benefit.
Safety is a top priority at Mor-Gran-Sou Electric and SCADA helps enhance safety. Due to real-time monitoring status on all equipment at the substations, the operations team can open and close switches at the substation without being physically present. This can be especially beneficial during extreme weather events, such as a fire, tornado or blizzard.
Mor-Gran-Sou Electric is proud to make investments that improve reliability for our members. We look forward to continuing upgrades across our service territory in the coming years, helping to reduce outages, improve service reliability, and ensure our members have access to safe and dependable electric services.