At Union Power, our focus on improving the resilience of the electric grid is a year-round effort. We take steps daily to ensure the electric grid can quickly and effectively recover from storms and other threats, so our members have the reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity they depend on.

The electric grid has evolved substantially in recent years and will continue to change as new advancements transform the way co-ops and other utilities transmit power, and our members use it. Digital technology is also making an unprecedented level of energy monitoring and communication possible, which ultimately benefits you by alerting us to issues on the grid and enabling tools that allow you to be more aware of your energy use.

On today’s modern grid, power no longer moves in a linear path from cooperative to member. Instead, it includes a wide variety of resources and technologies spread throughout the grid, like a spider web. Many of these distributed energy resources stem directly from members like you, including smart thermostats, residential solar, and even electric vehicles.

On today’s modern grid, power no longer moves in a linear path from cooperative to member.

Union Power and the state’s other electric cooperatives are also pursuing a range of innovative energy solutions, from microgrids to solar and storage, that further enhance grid flexibility and efficiency. Using a sophisticated energy management platform, we are carefully coordinating and dispatching these interconnected resources to meet electricity demand and balance traffic on the grid.

We are also undertaking other measures that increase grid resilience and strengthen our infrastructure against storms. Some of those measures include the addition of system enhancements that help prevent outages from occurring and decrease restoration times when they do occur. Our proactive system maintenance programs help ensure the system’s equipment is in good working order, while our right-of-way maintenance program helps mitigate the risk of damage from trees, branches, and other types of vegetation to our power lines.

All of these efforts are part of our ongoing commitment to building a brighter future for the people, businesses, and communities we serve.