While many utilities outsource after-hours dispatch services, Tideland remains committed to in-house dispatching 24 hours a day, year-round. We believe in-house dispatching is crucial to response times, worker safety and overall member satisfaction.
With advancements in technology, we are increasingly deploying smart grid devices that allow our dispatchers to pinpoint where system damage has most likely occurred. Those details are given to the responding linemen, saving valuable time in the restoration process. That was in part why we created a new, state-of-the-art dispatch center at our Pantego headquarters.
The center has redundant generator capacity to ensure continuous operation. While we could still be subject to telecommunication failures, such as the two-day telephone outage following Hurricane Irene, we continue to explore options that might provide backup.
Typically, one full-time dispatcher mans the center but during a crisis situation we can seat additional personnel to handle the requisite work load. Oversized monitors allow the dispatching team to effectively be on the same page while managing multiple facets of a large outage.
Help us help you by visiting our Storm Center to learn how to report a power outage: TidelandEMC.com.