Achieving Record Reliability

2022 was our Cooperative’s most reliable year ever. The number of outages members experienced fell by 20%, and when outages did occur, our average restoration time was five minutes faster. These achievements would not be possible without the continued dedication of our employees, who are committed to keeping the lights on.

As DEC’s CIO and vice president of technology, Dwayne Street lives and breathes reliability. Street says he looks forward to coming to work every day because he knows that he and the team at DEC are always prepared to develop innovative solutions to complicated problems. “As our industry continues to look for more innovative and efficient ways to improve reliability, we often turn our focus to technology as a means to get there. This has really bolstered the duties of technology departments in electric utilities,” Street says. 

When an outage occurs, it is DEC’s dispatch team who is the first to know about it. Through meter alerts, dispatchers like Anthony Greene maintain member reliability by receiving notifications when meters register an issue — be it an average outage or an internal issue with the meter itself — then dispatching a crew to resolve the issue as quickly and safely as possible. “What I enjoy most about working at the Co-op is that we all work together,” Greene says. “We are like a family, and it's everybody's goal to keep the members’ lights on.”

The electric meter serves as the final connection point between the member and our Cooperative. In the role of master meter technician, George White says his job serves as a key element in achieving DEC’s goal of providing and maintaining reliability for the people and places we power. “The work I do of testing, programming and installing meters at the Co-op helps ensure system reliability,” White says. “Testing meters determines accuracy, programming meters for specific services ensures correct billing data and installing meters keeps members with power for their homes and businesses.” 

At DEC, the member experience we provide begins when someone calls to initiate electric service to their home or business. When they call, they speak to a member service representative in our new service department, such as Gladys Aviles-Johnson. According to Aviles-Johnson, reliable service begins with reliable communication between members and the Co-op. “When it comes to reliability, people call us when they're ready to build. They need electricity, so they are relying on us to start that process and keep them informed of its progress. Communication is key to making that happen.”