No one knows what the future holds, and while we live in uncertain times, preparing for the future is essential. Benjamin Frankin said, “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.”
Prairie Land has been preparing for the future this past year in many ways. Last April, Prairie Land partnered with the National Rural Telecommunication Cooperative (NRTC) to develop a 10-year Grid Technology Plan to enhance Prairie Land’s electric distribution system. NRTC completed the detailed plan in late 2024, identifying key smart grid components and implementation strategies to improve critical infrastructure, service reliability, and outage response times. There are two main implementation phases that include installing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and automatic circuit reclosers (ACRs):
- Utilizing a SCADA system will establish a smart grid backbone. This computer-based system will provide centralized, real-time monitoring and control of the distribution network, collect data from field devices to detect faults and monitor system health.
- Over the next several years, we will begin to replace outdated substation reclosures and electronic controls with new ACRs. Upgrading to smart controls-enabled ACR technology will improve system reliability, reduce service interruptions, and mitigate the fire risk from downed power lines, supporting the cooperative's improved safety and efficiency goals.
To help cover the costs of these initiatives, we will use Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding and apply for a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Managed by the Kansas Corporation Commission, this grant program aims to strengthen the electric grid and enhance its resilience against storms and other disruptions. By investing in these upgrades, we are building a stronger, smarter electric grid that will serve our members reliably for years to come.
Alongside the Grid Technology Plan, Prairie Land has made several other investments to prepare for the future. This past year, we completed a large substation project - the expansion and upgrade of our Smith Center 115kV substation (read in more detail in the Project Updates section). Most of our distribution equipment was at the end of its life, and we were having problems acquiring parts to keep the existing equipment functional. The project included enlarging the overall footprint, installing new distribution feeder equipment, and building a new control house.
As many members know, we also started a major meter exchange project for residential and small commercial services in late 2023. The current meters that were installed in 2012 were starting to fail at a high rate as they were nearing the end of their expected useful life. Replacing the older type with the same upgraded meters as used for other non-residential services will allow us to streamline our process and continue to provide our members with the best possible service. The upgraded meters will report on key characteristics such as energy consumption used for billing, or voltage levels and current, which are used to help us operate the system more efficiently.
These are just some of the projects we invested in during 2024. We believe that ongoing maintenance of our electric distribution grid is essential in providing a reliable and resilient system. Through continued system upgrades, equipment and pole replacements, pole testing, and proper line and vegetation management practices, we can ensure our system will function to minimize the number of members affected by unanticipated system interruptions. In other words, we want to do our best to ensure that when you flip the light switch, the lights turn on.
Preparing for 2025 and the beyond, Prairie Land is determined to keep adapting to the future while maintaining our unwavering commitment to serve our members. Prairie Land will continue to dedicate all its resources to improving the quality of life for our members and supporting our communities by providing safe, reliable energy services and education.