19 Feb
Recent widespread power outages in Texas and other parts of the country are a good reminder that weather often causes unexpected service interruptions. At a time in which record low temperatures swept across most of the country and millions of people have been without power in some areas for several days, IREA’s customers have experienced no major outage events since the recent cold snap began.
IREA continually upgrades the system to harden it against Colorado’s adverse weather. IREA’s robust system improvement program is aimed at increasing reliability in the areas of IREA’s grid that need the most attention. Those projects directly contribute to IREA’s improved reliability and will continue to pay dividends for years to come.
“Our Engineering and Operations Departments, system planners, project managers and district personnel deserve a lot of credit for prioritizing projects that improve system reliability each year,” IREA Chief Operating Officer Pam Feuerstein said. “From Deer Trail to Lake George, IREA is consistently working to improve the health of our system to the benefit of the members we serve throughout our nearly 5,000-square-mile service territory.”
In recent years, IREA has implemented a detailed fire mitigation plan aimed at proactive vegetation management to prevent forest fires in IREA’s service territory. This thorough vegetation management also pays reliability dividends when heavy snow would otherwise bring down trees and branches onto power lines. IREA also recently completed the installation of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system that will help the electric cooperative better identify the locations and causes of outages so power can be restored even faster than before.
To learn more about the other system improvement projects IREA is working on, visit our System Improvements page.