Ervin Cable Construction to begin installing fiber on CHEC electric poles Big news from Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative! The make-ready process for our fiber broadband network continues throughout our service territory — this means fiber installation will soon commence. Beginning in early April you can expect to see Ervin Cable Construction (ECC) crews on your land and in your area to install fiber in a two-part process. Here’s what this process looks like: First, for members with overhead power lines, crews will first hang a strand onto the electric poles which the fiber is attached to. Then they use a machine to “lash” the fiber cable to the strand permanently. Then, for members who have underground power
lines, a contractor will pull the fiber through the conduit that was previously installed in the ground adjacent to the power line. While we are still in the early stages of the project, and several steps remain to be performed before members are fully connected, the addition of fiber to our system brings members one step closer to the reality of fiber-to-the-home. We appreciate your patience as work continues, and we look forward to sharing our progress throughout this exciting project. Stay updated at www. cooksonhills.com.
Digital meters to help members better control energy use CHEC has contracted with Anixter Utility Power Solutions to upgrade our electric metering system. Anixter has over 80 years of experience in the metering industry, and will begin changing out older AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) meters on the system, with new AMI meters. AMI meters, also known as Smart meters, are updated, digital versions of the traditional electric meter commonly used in the past. AMI meters not only measure how much electricity is used, but also at what times during the day. Smart meters are also more accurate than the older meters and are designed to transmit pricing and energy information from the utility company to the consumer (two-way communication). The work is expected to continue through 2022. www.cooksonhills.com | 3
