It’s Public Power and Natural Gas Week, so it’s a good time to note the key benefits of a four-service, publicly owned utility. For example, we have the unique ability to leverage in-house resources to manage costs and maximize efficiency.
Our Apparatus Shop plays a big part in ensuring the reliability and safety of our services and managing your costs. This team fixes and takes care of everything from tools to transformers. Instead of always buying new equipment or sending out equipment to various locations around the country, the shop repairs and rehabilitates existing equipment. Having this technical expertise in-house helps us avoid costs and, in turn, helps keep bills lower for our customers.
The shop also tests different types of equipment, such as gloves, blankets and poles, to ensure everything is safe and works properly. During emergencies, they respond quickly to get equipment into the field.
Our Apparatus Shop was created decades ago to repair high-voltage distribution switches, reclosers and transformers. However, in the early 2010s, the shop was short-staffed, so they had to focus on testing new equipment for installation.
In 2019, Supervisor David Buckner had a plan. He proposed bringing on an additional employee to focus on repairing broken equipment to better manage costs over the long term. His idea was approved, and the results were amazing. By 2020, the team had fixed 135 pieces of equipment, saving $640,633. Since then, the shop has continued to grow. Now, with five team members, they are expected to reach $5 million in cost avoidance by the end of 2024.
Ongoing supply chain problems continue, making getting new equipment harder and more expensive. The shop's focus on repairs has become even more valuable because it helps us avoid delays and keeps our services affordable and reliable for the community.
As the cost of new equipment keeps rising, internal efficiencies such as the unique work done by the Apparatus Shop continue to provide value to our organization. This team makes a huge difference in our readiness, efficiency and reliability, ultimately benefiting our customers who depend on us.