By Catherine O’Dell, Photography by Don McKenzie, September 2010
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Click to enlarge | |||
When the U.S. military needed a partner to keep the electric power flowing to the world’s largest Army installation at Fort Bragg, they put their trust in a system set up by four North Carolina electric cooperatives. It was a decision that has added even more pride to Fort Bragg.
Sandhills Utility Services, LLC, formed in 1997 by four neighboring cooperatives, today operates a distribution system that has nearly doubled in size and capability since it began work here 10 years ago. And the system is poised to take on more as Fort Bragg and its affiliated bases and community grow in the coming years.
The four cooperatives that formed Sandhills Utility Services (SUS) in 1997 are Central EMC in Sanford, Lumbee River EMC in Red Springs, Pee Dee EMC in Wadesboro and South River EMC in Dunn. Fort Bragg was the first U.S. military installation to begin the process of transferring utility services to the private sector. Jeff Brown, the CEO of Sandhills since 2007 who began work here as engineering manager in 2004, has seen the cooperative way of doing business succeed at the military base.
“Sandhills Utility Services is a valuable investment for the cooperatives,” says Brown. “We have been able to work with the Army to enhance our services. We offer the military the flexibility of a small company, a single location, on-site decision making and local command and control. More importantly, we never forget that we have one customer—the Army.”
Only a handful of cooperatives had previously pursued contracts on military installations prior to the Fort Bragg deal. Today there are 21 cooperatives providing electric service to 20 military installations in 14 states.
| top |