Reliability. It is part of the three-legged stool that makes up the OREMC mission statement: To provide safe, reliable and affordable energy to our members. We have spoken a lot about reliability, and our focus on enhancing it, over the past several years. So how are we doing?

Operations Manager Travis Page points to the recovery from Hurricane Helene as a benchmark, saying, “We had 85 percent of our system out Friday morning with Hurricane Helene—large numbers of which were the result of transmission outages feeding nine of our substations (meaning those outages we not on OREMC’s system but impacted the delivery of power to our system.) We had the majority of our members back on by Monday afternoon, with the remainder cleaned up Tuesday. As far as recovery from a major storm, this was one of our best.”

The standard rules of measure for system reliability are SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) and SAIFI (System Average Interruption Frequency Index). SAIDI measures how long members are without power and SAIFI refers to the average number of outages a member experiences. They are cumulative averages per member, meaning it takes the total number of outages and total duration of outages and divides them by total number of members served. For 2024 OREMC’s SAIDI was 200 minutes, and SAIFI was 2.59 outages per member. Three years ago, the numbers were 224 and 3.11 respectively. Twelve years ago, OREMC’s SAIDI/SAIFI was 372/3.43

The numbers indicate there has been steady, measurable improvement in the last three years, but major advances made in lowering those numbers over the past decade. Right of way maintenance (ROW), system improvements through the construction workplan and technological innovations have all contributed  to improved reliability.

“The focus on reliability became an elevated strategic initiative after the impact major storms—hurricanes and ice—had on our system in 2016, 2017 and 2018,” notes Page. “New materials and technologies had become available to better harden electrical systems against power disruptions and those storm years reinforced our need to implement them into our distribution system.”

Implementing SCADA, or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, has enabled OREMC to take steps toward developing a self-healing smart grid in the future. SCADA uses a series of electronic devices that enable system operators at the OREMC Control Center to sectionalize line and isolate an outage, such that it impacts the fewest number of members for the shortest amount of time.

Working in tandem with SCADA has been workplan improvements that: 1.) tie the distribution together so members can be fed electricity from a different direction when an outage has been detected and isolated; and 2.) using upgraded materials for new construction and system improvements that better harden—or strengthen—the system. Examples include bigger, stouter poles and heavy-duty aluminum wire that is more resilient to weather and debris.

ROW maintenance has also played a significant role in minimizing damage to the system, and ensuring access to the lines for clean up when damage does occur. OREMC has employed a more comprehensive approach to vegetation management with trimming and spraying that is targeted and longer lasting. There is also a greater focus on identifying and removing potential “danger” trees, or trees that stand outside the ROW but have the potential to impact the system during significant weather events.

“We would love to say our goal is zero power disruptions, “insists Page, “but the reality is there are too many contributing factors out of our control. Namely, weather, animals and vehicular accidents. What we can do is work to lower the frequency and duration of outages. For me duration is a focal point because it says a lot about how members are impacted, as well as reflecting system resiliency and restoration efforts.”