4 Steps to Electric Service

Connecting New Electric Service Takes Research and Planning

Story and photo by David Herder

When a customer asks their utility for new electric service, it launches a detailed, diligent process into motion. Constructing an electric connection can run smoothly due to all the work done beforehand.

While every utility has its own customized process, a new connection almost always has 4 steps: application, engineering, permitting, and construction.

Application

Typically, the journey of a thousand kilowatt-hours begins with a single application. This first step puts the project on the utility’s radar and begins the information-gathering process. “If you’re thinking about building a house and you’re getting ready to build, go ahead and apply for new service,” says Kristin Burge, engineering and operations manager at Northern Lights Inc. in Sagle, Idaho. “Don’t wait until your house is built. Because you might come in, and we might not have the right transformer, especially if you need a special piece of equipment.”

Applications typically ask for an address, a site plan—to give an idea of how the power will be connected—and a rough estimate of energy use. These questions help the utility plan for any engineering the project needs.

“Especially around here, you might have a 10-acre parcel,” Kristin says. “Well, where do you want power on that parcel?” While customers can walk into utility offices to get help with new applications, the information can often be gathered elsewhere. Customers can call their utility or find application materials on utility websites.

Engineering

As with any construction project, before any tools are brought out, it is important to ask, “How are we doing this?”

That plan is the responsibility of the utility’s engineering department. At utilities such as Central Electric Cooperative in Central Oregon, a field engineer heads out to the soon-to-be electrified site to get the lay of the land.

“Engineers then design the infrastructure, considering the specific requirements and site conditions,” says Brent ten Pas, CEC vice president of member and public relations.

Engineers consider the most efficient way to add the service and calculate the additional cost of providing that service. The best way to connect a location to the power grid varies based on location and terrain.

Sometimes, it can be as simple as running a short wire to connect houses in a new subdivision into a central hub. Sometimes, it could mean running miles of wires and poles through steep woods to reach an isolated barn. Each job has different engineering challenges and costs.

Similarly, if the new customer is building a subdivision, factory, or resort, their power needs may present larger planning questions for a utility, depending on whether or not the current infrastructure can handle the increased electric load.

“CEC engineers evaluate the projected loads to determine the potential impacts to the system and whether upgrades are needed,” Brent says. “If needed, the developers are responsible for the associated costs of upgrading the system to deliver the required power for their projects.”

Utilities are constantly monitoring their systems to make sure they are capable of delivering the full power demand. At Northern Lights, there is a 5-year construction plan as well as a 10-year forward-looking plan.

“We’re always trying to look forward so that we’re not going to have a capacity issue,” Kristin says.

Permitting

In a construction project, it is necessary to follow local laws, codes, and guidelines.

Depending on the town, county, and state, new service can require electrical permits as well as any easements needed for the property a power line would cross to reach the new service. While the customer must typically get all of these permits, utilities can often help point them in the right direction.

Construction

Once the plans have been developed, lineworkers head into the field, construct a connection to the customer’s meter, and soon enough, a lightbulb turns on for the first time.

“Honestly, that’s the short thing usually,” Kristin says.

At the construction phase, the biggest hurdle is ensuring all of the necessary building materials are on-site. The whole world has faced supply chain challenges during the past 4 years. For utilities, this has meant difficulties acquiring components, such as transformers and power poles.

“Things have cooled off a little bit, but compared to the pre-COVID supply chain, it definitely has changed things,” Kristin says. “Last year, we ran out of elbows for underground connections. It’s just the most bizarre thing.”

In Alaska, challenges can come even if the materials are on hand. Alaska Village Electric Cooperative has nearly 50 power plants serving 58 communities across western Alaska. In most of those communities, materials must be shipped by barge or airlifted, which requires months-long planning.

“We’ve got to have every nut and bolt figured out in advance,” says Bill Stamm, AVEC president and CEO. “If a lineman gets there and is short on materials, it can scuttle the job until we can regroup and get materials out there, which isn’t going to be just a drive to the hardware store. It will be a couple of days or a couple of weeks.”

Bill says AVEC accountants and auditors came to a realization recently.

“They realize that we are kind of a construction company that does utility service on the side, just because we always have something that’s being built in one of our locations,” he says.