Electric Distribution System Upgrades

Dawson Public Power District covers a 5,000 square mile service area with 5,747 miles of line which delivers power to 22,366 accounts. This electrical plant is valued on the books of the District at $123M.

Just like any other valuable asset, this electric distribution system needs continual upgrades, repairs and improvements. This system is made up primarily of two portions. The first is the backbone high voltage sub-transmission and substation portion. Over the past 15 years, considerable amount of funds have been used to upgrade our backbone delivery system with new sub-transmission lines and new and upgraded substations. Over the next 3 years, Dawson will complete the majority of the backbone upgrades which now lie south of I80 which will improve reliability and add growth capacity for Farnam, Eustis, Elwood, Smithfield, and Johnson Lake.

The second major portion of the electrical distribution system is the distribution line circuits. Generally, three to five line circuits extend out of each of our 52 substations and deliver lower voltage power to homes, businesses, and irrigation wells. There are 4,856 miles of these distribution lines.

Dawson has been in business since 1937. Believe it or not, even after the numerous ice storms which have hit over the years, there are still original line segments with original poles and conductor in use in many parts of our electrical system.

Recently, the Board of Directors completed their strategic planning process. The Board has instructed management to develop plans to identify the distribution line segments which are in greatest need of upgrades and to begin the process of replacing them. We will examine the line condition, age, outage history and number of customers affected to determine the greatest positive impact on system reliability.

Over the next few years expect to see more local distribution lines upgraded throughout the service area. The goal is to replace 40 – 50 miles of distribution each year. Of course this is not cheap to do. We expect the annual cost to be in the $2 – 3M range. It’s a lot of money but this type of maintenance is needed and must be sustained over the years to keep the system in good shape.

Robert A. Heinz, General Manager