The January 20th ice storm is the worst I’ve seen in my 19 years in the electric utility industry. The storm broke more than 1,000 poles and knocked down more than 200 miles of power line in the Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative service area. The damage was so severe that nearly 2,700 of the co-op’s 2,752 member-consumers lost power.
The worst aspect of this storm is that the damage resulted in extended power outages for hundreds of member-consumers, which has been a hardship for some folks and a major inconvenience for others. The impact on member-consumers is frustrating for management, directors and staff at the co-op because we know that our frustration isn’t as intense as it must be for the people we serve.
It’s been all hands on deck since this started and all of us have been doing everything we can to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Thanks are due not only to member-consumers whose patience has been severely tested in all of this, but area farmers, businesses and residents who have helped us and helped each other cope. We also thank the more than 200 linemen from co-ops and contractors in Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, and Kansas that we brought in to help us replace hundreds of broken poles and mile after mile of downed power line.
In the last couple of days, some folks have asked me why MidAmerican Energy was able to have all of its customers’ power back on at the beginning of this week. I don’t know how much damage MidAmerican Energy sustained in the storm, so I don’t know if it was as bad on their system as it was on ours. I am in confident saying though that all electric utilities have the same objective, restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Every storm is different, and the next time around all of our member-consumers might have power restored before MidAmerican Energy customers in the area do.
A natural advantage MidAmerican Energy has in severe winter weather is the nature of the service areas. Rural electric co-ops because they’re rural have more poles and wires along gravel roads than along paved roads which are plowed sooner, and in many cases, easier to navigate in bad weather. Also, the more sparsely populated electric cooperative service area has approximately three member-consumers for each mile of power line, while investor-owned utilities like Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy, combined, average 27 customers per mile of power line. Replacing broken poles and putting a mile of power line back up for RECs results in three member-consumers having power restored, while 27 customers of the investor-owned utilities get their lights back on when the same number of poles and mile of power line are fixed.
When ice storms knock out power for days at time, it’s a brutal reminder of the fact that 24/7 electric service 365 days of the year can’t be guaranteed. In spite of decades of constructing the electric system to rigid construction standards as well as performing annual routine maintenance such as testing the strength of poles, analyzing the frequency, length and causes of power outages on our system as well as in preparing plans to respond when power goes out, we’re still at the mercy of the weather. At times like these, no one remembers electric utility industry reporting standards that measure the frequency and length of power outages, and show that power is on more than 99.9 percent of the time for customers of RECs in Iowa and investor-owned electric companies Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy. I completely understand that’s not much comfort when power has been off for several days. However, I hope you do take some comfort in knowing that we construct the system to be as reliable as reasonably possible while keeping electricity affordable to you. We also take great steps in maintaining the system and planning for when widespread outages occur through our sharing of linemen, trucks and other equipment with RECs throughout the Midwest.
One thing you can count on in any weather event is that at Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative we are doing everything we can to get everyone’s power back on when you lose it. On behalf of the staff and board directors of the Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative, thanks for your cooperation, support and patience.