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New systems, approaches help co-op handle growth
How York Electric is meeting the challenge to serve growing communities
June, 2006
By Walter Allread
The second-fastest growing electric co-op in South Carolina, York Electric Cooperative actually serves two types of communities, CEO Paul Basha says.
 East of Rock Hill, the co-op's service area includes high-growth communities within commuting range of bustling Charlotte, N.C. Customer growth in Fort Mill doubles every seven years.
As the Queen City's metropolitan area continues to expand, development is bringing a new generation of co-op member-owners to places like Baxter Village in Fort Mill, a hybrid residential-commercial development with a handsome city center featuring upscale shops and restaurants plus two parks.
The co-op also serves scores of new developments, schools, businesses and industries in Indian Land and other Lancaster County panhandle communities. However, west and south of York, into Chester County, the service area retains the rural flavor residents have enjoyed since their co-op began providing reliable, affordable electricity 65 years ago.
Yet today, residents and businesses in all the communities York Electric serves have relatively stable power costs. Even with the higher growth to the east and the slower growth to the west, the cooperative has not had a rate increase for 13 years.
Basha cites three factors to this success:
- Use of proven new technology to increase efficiency,
- Co-op efforts to attract and serve industry and other large power users, and finally,
- "People power."
That last factor is crucial, Basha says. "Technological improvements and economic development efforts are important," he says, "but it just wouldn't work without dedicated, skilled employees."
The other key people, he adds, are the co-op's member-elected trustees. "Being members themselves, our trustees keep York Electric focused on local needs," Basha says. "For decades, our Board has been steering the co-op into the future."
Basha says the cooperative Board and management carefully weigh investments in technology. York Electric employees have mastered each new technology while handling everyday tasks — even as member growth topped 14 percent in the last five years. The various departments work together well, he adds, enabling the various technologies to work together, too.
Perception vs. reality
Despite the progress, an outdated view of York Electric persists.
It's ironic how we're sometimes perceived as ‘the little co-op' when Touchstone Energy cooperatives like York Electric typically use more technology than much larger competitors.
For instance, the co-op began using automated meter reading (AMR) in 1987, while larger, investor-owned utilities only recently began installing AMR systems.
Co-op meter readers can now use a notebook-based mobile collection unit with
an ERT (encoder recorder transmitter) to gather readings from nearby AMR-equipped meters as they drive through a neighborhood. The result, Basha notes, is the cooperative gains efficiency — and reduces the operating expenses that all members of a not-for-profit co-op share.
York Electric has also undertaken a major effort in the last several years to digitally map the co-op's entire distribution system. Now, using geographic information systems (GIS) technology, the co-op can pinpoint the location of its facilities — each transformer on the system, even every security light in a member's yard. With a GIS-based system map, a line crew can leave for a restoration job knowing the size of the conductor, the types of hardware on the poles and more. That means faster restoration and better system maintenance.
Smarter substations
Members also benefit from another technology the co-op has used for some time. York Electric recently adopted the latest substation control and data acquisition (SCADA) technology.
SCADA allows utilities to monitor and control the facilities, which do the crucial job of taking high-voltage power from transmission lines and lowering it to levels safe for consumer use. We're now in our third generation of SCADA.
The newest York Electric substations include high-speed "communications brains" or RTUs (remote terminal units). RTUs rely data over high-speed fiber optic communications lines, giving the co-op real-time information on potential problems. With RTUs and SCADA, you get "smarter substations," as engineers say — and more reliable service.
Having an excellent reliability record and a reputation for prompt service-call responses helps the co-op to attract and retain new commercial and industrial consumers. These ‘large loads' buy significant amounts of co-op power, which lowers the cost of service for all members.
Enhancing member service
Other technological improvements have enhanced member service in more direct ways. Online bill presentment and payment add convenience, and the co-op's new PowerTouch system uses interactive voice response technology to speed service restoration.
PowerTouch even offers a Spanish language option — another sign of the co-op responding to change.
NEXT MONTH: Inside and out, your co-op is really wired
Related links:
Part 2: Inside and out, your co-op is really wired »
Part 3: Industry helps hold down rates for all »
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