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Sometimes, the best improvements cannot be seen.
Thanks to nearly $1.7 million in Missouri State Emergency Management Agency grant funding, Independence Power & Light will make hundreds of “beneath-the-surface” improvements as residential overhead electric service lines go underground.
The City Council Monday night unanimously approved an emergency ordinance for the grant funding, which requires nearly $565,000 in local matching dollars. Throughout this year and into 2013 and 2014, about 1,785 of IPL’s high-risk residential overhead service lines will go underground with new lines.
This marks the seventh time that IPL has received such grant funding, and the application for the eighth time around has already been submitted, IPL Director Leon Daggett told the council. About 75 percent of IPL’s residential overhead service lines are now underground, he said.
“We’ll keep our fingers crossed,” Daggett said, “and if we keep getting the money, we’ll get as many residences’ underground as possible.”
The underground lines aim to lessen any future damage to overhead electric services because of ice, wind and lightning storms. Homes determined to likely receive future service line damage because of adjacent trees are candidates for conversion work.
In their final selection process, IPL staff members will consider the proximity of electric service wires to trees, the age and condition of existing overhead facilities, physical obstructions and the location and condition of service entrance equipment. Homes with these conditions will receive higher priority, Daggett said.
Properties that may make difficult conversions because of the need to cross a street, patio or other obstacle, as well as the need to move the metering location, will likely not qualify, Daggett said.
The program is available at no cost to participants, unless work to an inside electrical panel or house wiring is needed.
“It’s very positive for residents, and it’s very positive for our community,” City Manager Robert Heacock said. “It’s leveraging a significant amount of our dollars every year with this program, as we’ve been successful. We’re one of the few utilities in our region that’s been able to access this type of funds, and we’ve been called a model by the State Emergency Management Agency.”
Sometimes, the best improvements cannot be seen.
Thanks to nearly $1.7 million in Missouri State Emergency Management Agency grant funding, Independence Power & Light will make hundreds of “beneath-the-surface” improvements as residential overhead electric service lines go underground.
The City Council Monday night unanimously approved an emergency ordinance for the grant funding, which requires nearly $565,000 in local matching dollars. Throughout this year and into 2013 and 2014, about 1,785 of IPL’s high-risk residential overhead service lines will go underground with new lines.
This marks the seventh time that IPL has received such grant funding, and the application for the eighth time around has already been submitted, IPL Director Leon Daggett told the council. About 75 percent of IPL’s residential overhead service lines are now underground, he said.
“We’ll keep our fingers crossed,” Daggett said, “and if we keep getting the money, we’ll get as many residences’ underground as possible.”
The underground lines aim to lessen any future damage to overhead electric services because of ice, wind and lightning storms. Homes determined to likely receive future service line damage because of adjacent trees are candidates for conversion work.
In their final selection process, IPL staff members will consider the proximity of electric service wires to trees, the age and condition of existing overhead facilities, physical obstructions and the location and condition of service entrance equipment. Homes with these conditions will receive higher priority, Daggett said.
Properties that may make difficult conversions because of the need to cross a street, patio or other obstacle, as well as the need to move the metering location, will likely not qualify, Daggett said.
The program is available at no cost to participants, unless work to an inside electrical panel or house wiring is needed.
“It’s very positive for residents, and it’s very positive for our community,” City Manager Robert Heacock said. “It’s leveraging a significant amount of our dollars every year with this program, as we’ve been successful. We’re one of the few utilities in our region that’s been able to access this type of funds, and we’ve been called a model by the State Emergency Management Agency.”
