In mid-June, Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) announced they would be making efforts to prevent fires by downed power lines, or trees and debris making contact with KCEC’s electric infrastructure.
A release sent out by KCEC says these efforts compliment the current year-round tree trimming program, however, due to severe drought and the massive wildfires happening in southern New Mexico, they feel a need to aggressively and strategically work to mitigate the risk.
One tactic the cooperative is planning is placing non-reclose protective devices in forested areas. While this will mitigate the risk, it may also cause prolonged power interruptions as the protocol will require personnel to patrol the area before restoring power. “While this approach may temporarily delay some other daily functions of the cooperative, such as processing new work orders, we want to assure you that we are also developing a plan to address the most urgent new connections that need to be established,” the release says.
While the preventative efforts are being implemented, construction projects will take longer to complete as KCEC manages crews to help implement preventive measures. KCEC says they will prioritize and adjust plans accordingly as conditions change. The cooperative says they will provide periodic updates as the summer and wildfire season progresses.
The areas that will be on non-reclose (the device will act like a fuse and will only have one operation versus four) are as follows:
• Upper Red River Valley
• Taos Canyon and Valle Escondido
• NM 518 Corridor – Vadito eastward to the Mora County line
• El Valle
• Cabresto Canyon in Questa
• Vallecitos, Canon Plaza, Petaca, Las Tablas, La Madera
• Ute Park and Green Mountain
• Elizabeth Town and Iron Mountain
• Idlewild, Lakeview Pines, Black Lake area (Black Lake Resorts and Hidden Lake)
• San Antonio Mountain, Los Pinos
KCEC says they are committed to keeping customers informed and updated and will continue to inform and update community members of any future planned outages and information regarding extreme wildfire conditions. Additionally, KCEC says they will have crews on standby to address power disruptions.
