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The reliable delivery of electricity to our homes and businesses is always important. We understand that even the slightest interruption of power supply is inconvenient — possibly worse. Over the years, Ohio’s electric cooperatives have built a strong foundation of reliable delivery of service. We pride ourselves on being responsive when a problem arises, despite the fact that because our power system is such a complex network, the cause of power outages isn’t always obvious.
Your co-op, together with the other electric cooperatives across Ohio, formed Buckeye Power to generate your electricity and to deliver it across the high-voltage regional grid. The grid transmits power across long distances from power plants to local communities, and your cooperative delivers it to you from there. Those high-voltage transmission structures are generally owned and operated by the larger investor-owned utilities like AEP, Duke, FirstEnergy, and Dayton Power & Light, and that transmission network is critical to local power reliability.
Over the past several years, Buckeye Power has worked with those other utilities to improve the reliability of delivery to cooperative members across Ohio. I’m pleased to report that we’ve made significant progress. The number of outages on the transmission network has been cut nearly in half over the past 10 years. That remarkable success is a result of close coordination with other utilities, correcting problem areas, and making investments in new facilities as they’re needed.
Winter is a time when the reliability of your power delivery is more important than ever, and you can rest assured that your cooperative is ready to meet your needs. Improvements over the past several years have put our delivery network in the best shape it’s ever been. Despite that, Mother Nature may still overwhelm us from time to time (particularly when ice forms on our lines), but just as your cooperatives have helped out others that were ravaged by hurricanes earlier this year, we know that if we need help this winter, there are others ready to pay back the assistance that we’ve provided.
Wishing you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year.
