Behind the Scenes of Electric Reliability

Did you know it takes an average of 2,000 people to make a blockbuster movie? Beyond the actors you see on screen and the directors accepting awards, there is a much larger team of people performing duties behind the scenes to bring you the movies you love.

The same thing goes for MEC. You’re used to seeing crews restoring power after storms, battling fallen trees, broken poles, and damaged transformers. That’s what gets attention, as it should. It’s important work and something we take pride in. However, these crews and their teammates also do a lot of work year-round to bring you safe, reliable electricity. While you might not see these projects posted on social media, they are just as critical to what you do see during outage restoration.

I’m referring to our comprehensive multi-year work plan, which maps out upgrades and new construction to proactively address service issues, prevent outages, and improve reliability. To build the plan, we evaluate our system to identify areas in need, such as those with voltage and capacity issues. Then, we identify specific projects and analyze costs. Last, just like you do at home, we determine the highest-priority projects to maximize impact while balancing expenses.

By the end of 2026, we will have made about $16 million in system upgrades. Here are some of those projects:

• We have begun the early stages of having another substation built near Twin Lakes to accommodate increased residential and agricultural demand.
• We recently added another circuit to our Ontwa substation to better serve customers at a nearby subdivision and industrial area.
• In several areas, we performed “line reconductoring,” which is installing larger wires and poles. Just like water coming from a hose, electricity gets weaker the farther it travels. Reconductoring reduces that natural voltage loss and helps ensure customers at the end of a line get the same service as those at the beginning.
• We strategically buried lines in areas where it was most needed but also practical, possible, and cost-effective.
• We also continued working on substation automation and smart switching to add more ability to reroute power during outages, minimizing the number of customers who experience sustained power outages when there is a problem.

MEC maintains about 4,000 miles of line and over 100,000 poles, and not a week goes by without work to improve reliability. And let’s not forget our tree-clearing program. Keeping trees and brush away from our infrastructure not only helps with outage restoration, but also improves safety for our crews and the public. Ultimately, this makes our work plan more efficient by ensuring our crews can focus on our infrastructure, not what’s blocking it.

After all, storm restoration will always be part of our job, but true reliability starts long before the lights go out. That’s where your behind-the-scenes team makes the most impact so you can comfortably enjoy movie night or the big game!