(July 28, 2017) Lexington, Neb. – A project is underway in the village of Brady with the goal of improving electric reliability. Poles are being replaced, new conductor wire is being installed and the electric load of the village will be redistributed. The budgeted cost is $80,000.
“Planning is a big part of these projects,” explains Dawson PPD Engineering Manager, Cole Brodine. “The permits to cross the railroad tracks take 12 to 18 months of lead time. In addition, engineering and the construction crews work together to make sure all the different parts of the project are completed in a logical order.”
As part of the work, the Village will have a planned power outage on Tuesday, August 1 from 7:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Other, smaller portions of the upgrade were completed previously.
“Some of the lines in Brady used a type of wire called copper weld,” Brodine says. “Copper weld was commonly used during the World War II era. It has served the village for many years. During that time, it has been strained by occasional ice storms and falling tree branches. Due to age, copper weld wire can be hard to maintain. It is being replaced by larger, aluminum conductor that provides more capacity to deliver power.” In addition, some of the poles will be replaced. One of the oldest poles still in use was set in 1949.
In the past five years, Dawson Public Power District has invested nearly $960,000 of infrastructure improvements within the Village of Brady. This includes a new substation built in 2014.
Dawson PPD uses a 10-year planning cycle for system improvements. It also has an aging conductor program that allows the district to update segments of the system. All of these upgrades are part of a budgeting process. Some are paid through current revenues and others are financed through bonding. Dawson PPD has an A+ Standard and Poor’s rating, which gives the district access to low bond rates.
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