Operations - Who We Are

Mike Eastridge
Vice President of Operations

We are located in one of the fastest growing regions in the state, and Warren RECC's growth rate is one of the fastest in the area. Our customer base increases approximately 1,700 members a year, resulting in growing pains that must be addressed. Substation sizes must be increased and lines must be upgraded to handle the additional load as well as the increasing number of line extensions to serve new members. This rapid growth, plus our continuing efforts to rebuild and upgrade our existing facilities, is definitely a challenge - a challenge our engineering staff and construction crews have become accustomed to. They continue to raise the bar by exceeding our own expectations.

Your cooperative serves all or portions of eight Kentucky counties, and has four district offices. Warren RECC owns and operates 34 substations and maintains over 5,000 miles of line. You can contact me at 270-842-5214, extension 2265, or email me at meastridge@wrecc.com.

Bowling Green District Office

Leitchfield District Office

Morgantown District Office

Franklin District Office

Operational Services and Meter Reading

Right-of-Way

Safety

Grayson County Water District

Gerald Smith
District Manager

Our office maintains 14 substations, 1,848 miles of line and serves 25,952 members.

Rapid growth in the Bowling Green areas has fueled a need to upgrade lines in several areas. We are in the process of upgrading power lines between Park City and Rocky Hill and between Hardcastle and Greenwood. A larger conductor is being installed in the North Industrial Park and in the South Industrial Park to meet the increased demand from our commercial customers. We are continuing our line mainteance program with crews working in the Richardsville are. We are in the process of replacing over 100 poles.

Buck Jenkins Service Center
313 Commerce Avenue
Bowling Green, KY 42101

Tim Rhoades
District Manager

Our office maintains seven substations, 1,425 miles of line and serves 13,661 members.

Our crews will be installing line protection devices in and around the city limits of Leitchfield. These devices will help us localize the outages while limiting the number of members that are affected. We will also start a project near the Big Ready community on Highway 238. This project includes replacing poles and conductors, and will take several weeks to complete. Our crews continue replacing poles that were identified as faulty during our system inspections.

Leitchfield Office
113 South Lee Avenue
Leitchfield, KY 42754
Phone: (270) 259-3161
Fax: (270) 393-2617

Gregg Weathers
District Manager

Our office maintains six substations, 1,078 miles of line and serves 8,563 members.

We now have a new payment center in Ohio County, located at the Main Street Market in Beaver Dam. Also in Ohio County, in the area of highways 1543 and 919, line construction has been completed. Crews will be doing line inspections out of the Aberdeen Substation from Ohio County to Butler County. We are installing a new three-phase line in the Sugar Grove area to help improve reliability. Line maintenance work continues in the Horse Branch area. Plans to rebuild the Rose substation are in process with completion expected in December 2007.

Morgantown Office
112 South Tyler Street
Morgantown, KY 42261
Phone: (270) 526-3384
Fax: (270) 393-2616

Butch Morris
District Manager

Our office maintains five substations, 1,069 miles of line and serves 10,074 members.

The Franklin district is experiencing a great deal of growth, and we continue to upgrade our system to stay ahead of the growth. Our crews have completed the installation of tap line fuses in Simpson and Logan counties and we are in the process of installing them in our Warren County territory to improve reliability to better serve our members. We are also replacing poles in our area to maintain power lines. We are looking forward to another great year.

Franklin Office
698 Morgantown Road
Franklin, KY 42134
Phone: (270) 586-3443
Fax: (270) 393-2615

Dewayne McDonald
Manager

Our drive-by meter reading system, better known as AMR (Automated Meter Reading), is now being installed in the Leitchfield district. AMR is a meter reading system that allows us to drive down the road and collect the reading from the meter via a small antenna located inside the meter glass. Depending on the terrain, we are able to read the meter anywhaere from 500 feet and up to one mile away. We have completed converting the Bowling Green and Franklin districts residential meters over to the AMR system.

For outage problems, call (270) 843-9710 or outside of Bowling Green call (888) 604-4321.

Don Cole
Superintendent

In an effort to provide reliable service to our members and to ensure the safety of our facilities, it is imperative that we maintain our utility right-of-way. Our goal is to clear approximately 1,200 miles of right-of-way each year. This includes trimming or removing trees in and around our power lines. By doing this, we lessen the cause of blinks and outages.

We utilize contractors chosen through a bid process. In June 2006, A&G Contracting crews will be clearing right-of-way in the Rockfield area. During the months of August and September, they will continue their work in the Morgantown Road and Hadley areas.

Two weeks before we start a project, our Telelink telephone service will notify members in that particular area. If we are unable to make contact by telephone, they will be notified by postcard. Members in Warren County may call our Telelink number at 842-3234 to update their telephone number, or 1 -866-319-3234 (toll-free outside of Warren County.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call me at
(270) 842-5214, extension 1106.

Who goes home tonight?  Working safely is of primary importance.  In the past few months our employees have received training in work zone traffic control and flagging by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, updates on Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and vehicle inspections by Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement, and pole-top/bucket rescue by the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives.  Our workforce is well-trained and skilled in working safe and responding to emergency situations.

Warren RECC is safety accredited by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.  This process requires a rigorous on-site inspection as well as documentation in a number of areas relative to safe work practices.  A regular program that includes education and training on safety and loss control is a proven method of reducing losses. 

Kevin Shaw
Manager

The employees of Grayson County Water District have always risen to the task of taking care of business in an extremely professional manner. In the past few months, we have been recognized on four different occasions for these efforts. You could say we are the winners of the triple crown of awards in the water world.

As our first award, we received the Wooden Bucket award by the Kentucky Rural Water Association for outstanding system operations statewide. This award is presented annually to one water or wastewater system for excellence in system-wide operations.

The second award, from the Central Kentucky Water & Wastewater Operators Association, is for Outstanding Water Plant of the Year in the Central Chapter. The association consists of four chapters. Each chapter chooses an annual winner which is then submitted to the state association. From those four nominations, one is chosen as the plant of the year.

The third award was as the Outstanding Water Plant of the Year from the Kentucky Water & Wastewater Operators Association.

Last, but not least is the fourth award for second place in the Best Tasting Water in Kentucky contest. The winners of this award are chosen at an annual management conference of the Kentucky Rural Water Association. It is a real honor to be chosen by a panel of judges in a blind taste test as a top contender.