1:30PM February 19, 2018
CDEC’s broadband service is made possible
through communication upgrades to the co-op’s electric system and with the blessing
of the co-op’s members.
In 2016, CDEC’s membership voted in favor
of a bylaw amendment to allow CDEC to work toward providing voluntary broadband
internet and telecommunication services to customers. As a result, in 2017 CDEC
began construction on a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)
system, a fiber-optic communication backbone connecting the co-op’s substations
to a central command center at its Grants headquarters. The first phase of
SCADA will connect the co-op’s Grants and Bluewater substations to the command
center.
This infrastructure improvement will
enable SCADA communication, a modern digital energy management system used to
monitor, control and optimize the performance of electrical distribution. SCADA
will allow CDEC to provide safe and reliable electricity to its members more
efficiently. This fiber-optic investment to improve the delivery of power also
gives the co-op the opportunity to offer high-speed, broadband internet service
to businesses and residents through the same fiber-optic network.
As construction of CDEC’s broadband
network progresses, the public can expect visits from contractors with Pulse
Broadband, Kelly Cable, and C.B.R. Services, companies that specialize in the
design and building of fiber systems. Pulse is identifying poles that need
make-ready improvements to ensure safety and reliability of the co-op’s
electric and broadband networks. Kelly Cable and C.B.R. Services, both New
Mexico-based companies, are performing the make-ready construction and
stringing the fiber-optic lines on the co-op’s power poles.