A powerful connection, by Eric Eriksen
The San Luis Valley
We are a group of 46,108 (2020 U.S. Census) people living in the largest alpine valley on earth. Spanning over 8,000 square miles and sitting at 7,664 feet on average, we claim the oldest town in Colorado (San Luis), the Great Sand Dunes and so much more— truly living in a beautifully unique place. Therefore, we the people are unique too; our way of life is special, connected, resilient and ingenious— dedicated to working together.
The SLVREC Electric System
Like us, the SLVREC electric system is special too— a powerful connection between every member. REC consists of 15 substations, 2,700 miles of conductor strung along 42,000 wood poles, connected to 9,600 transformers that serve approximately 13,100 meters. This is just a highlight of the more than 125,000 unique pieces of equipment the SLVREC team operates and maintains.
That’s a lot to keep track of! It’s complex but all possible due to innovative technologies, like geographic information systems, otherwise known as GIS. If you haven’t viewed a GIS system before, then you may enjoy viewing the San Luis Valley on Google Earth.
GIS allows us to visually track every piece of equipment, much like a digital map. A typical paper map is limited by the amount of information that can be displayed— too much creates clutter and would be impossible to read. Unlike a typical map, GIS can store huge amounts of information on every single piece of equipment. For example, each wood pole has a unique identifying number, age, height, wood species, industry classification, location and condition. This yields about 294,000 data fields of wood pole information.
This data helps us make better decisions to deliver reliability and affordable rates for you. You can imagine how important it is to keep hundreds of thousands of pieces of information up to date. Details matter and it’s no easy task. To do this we have strategic processes in place that track every activity we perform, such as installing a new home electric service. The updated data is directed to our GIS Specialist who is expertly educated with years of experience. The GIS system is then updated and analytically used throughout SLVREC.
For example, in a storm a tree could fall on a power line and cause a fuse to blow. The GIS system provides actual electric system connectivity between lines and equipment. This helps our system operator identify members downstream of the blown fuse to notify them and to dispatch crews to the location. Amazing!
We’re here whenever you need us. Connect with us online, in person, or through our social media channels. However, you choose to connect, please let us know how we can serve you better.