 ANAMOSA, Iowa, Nov. 12, 2012 – Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative (MVEC), Anamosa, recently received the Smart Grid Visionary Award at the Rural Smart Grid Summit held in San Diego.
The Summit invited 120 electric cooperatives from across the nation to join participating vendors to discuss the latest technological advances and solutions in smart grid technologies. During the Summit, the Smart Grid Visionary Award was presented to the rural electric cooperative that is considered an early adopter of smart grid technology and who has successfully deployed at least one smart grid project with plans to further develop the technology over the next three to five years.
Over the past 14 years, MVEC has maximized the use of smart grid technologies to enhance the day to day operating efficiencies of the cooperative and to improve service reliability to its’ membership. Continuing the process, MVEC is currently in the early phases of implementing a meter data management system that ties to a member web portal. According to Jeremy Richert, Director of Engineering, “Managing all of the data collected thru technologies, and development of the portal, offers members the ability to make informed decisions regarding their energy use”. Additional portal features include online bill payment and the ability to request alerts or reminders on issues regarding their account.
“Our members tell us service reliability is important to them, so we are pleased to announce this technology has reduced power outage times by 38%, making us one of the most reliable utilities in Iowa”, says CEO Jim Lauzon. Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative is a member-owned utility that distributes electricity to over 16,000 homes, farms and businesses in Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson and Jones counties and portions of five surrounding counties.
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Last Updated on Monday, 12 November 2012 15:31 |
