Strengthening Our Electric Grid
Prairie Land Electric Cooperative partnered with the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) to develop a 10-year Smart Grid Technology Plan to enhance Prairie Land's electric distribution system. The detailed plan, completed by NRTC in late 2024, identified key smart grid components and implementation strategies to improve critical infrastructure, service reliability, and outage response times.
The plan highlighted two main priorities:
- Improving Reliability – Making sure our system experiences fewer outages and interruptions.
- Upgrading Communications – Installing technology that helps us monitor and manage the electric grid more effectively.
Building the Backbone
This project’s first phase will focus on installing a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to establish the smart grid backbone. This computer-based system will provide centralized, real-time monitoring and control of the distribution network, collecting data from field devices, like transformers and circuit breakers, to detect faults and monitor system health.
Next Steps – Targeting Problem Areas
The next phase focuses on installing automatic circuit reclosers (ACRs) in areas previously affected by storms and on 20 circuits across seven high-outage substations. These advanced devices will replace outdated reclosers without electronic controls, reducing manual intervention.
ACRs automatically detect and isolate faults, such as short circuits, and temporarily disconnect affected line sections. After a short period, the devices attempt to re-energize the line based on pre-programmed criteria. If a fault persists, the recloser locks open, effectively isolating the faulted section from the main grid and alerting the operations team to investigate and resolve the issue. This automated process minimizes the need for manual intervention and significantly reduces response times.
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 goals for improved safety and efficiency.
Funding
To help cover the costs, 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 (IIJA), 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.
