Author: UDWI

BLOOMFIELD, Ind. (Feb. 5, 2021) — The Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC will continue its focus on infrastructure improvement in 2021. These improvements are designed to improve system reliability and efficiency. The co-op remains committed to working through the challenges of operating safely during a pandemic while prioritizing member service. 

Construction has begun on five miles of line replacement while working diligently to keep line crews safe by following CDC guidelines. The work on two additional miles of line will begin soon, with the co-op expecting to complete 15 additional miles of new line throughout the remainder of 2021.

This year, UDWI members can also expect to see a small decrease in their rates. The rate decrease is due to a slight drop in power supply costs from Hoosier Energy. 

This is good news for members, as a household with an average use of 1,000 kWh per month would see their bill drop by $4.86 (3.3 percent) per month and an annual savings of about $58 per year.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer a rate decrease to our members, especially during the current pandemic,” said UDWI CEO Doug Childs. “This is the second rate decrease UDWI has achieved since 2018 which is a great accomplishment that was made possible by the hard work of the dedicated UDWI team.”  

Major maintenance and construction activity taking place will focus on the most-aged lines that often contribute to outages. The co-op has more than 2,000 miles of line with approximately 50 percent that are in need of repair or replacement. Construction plans are focused on the 1,042 miles of copper lines that are over 60 years old in some areas of the service territory. 

UDWI’s 2021 improvement plans also include new service-related construction activities. The cooperative’s average new service activity is up 11 percent over a seven-year average and is on pace to continue to grow in 2021. New service in the UDWI territory helps spread the cost of energy among more members and shows signs of a strengthening economy in the service area.

“Capital improvements continue to stay a top priority for UDWI as we continue to work toward improving service reliability for our members,” said Childs. “UDWI is addressing these challenges and working to stay on top of our system’s infrastructure maintenance.”

In addition to line upgrades, UDWI will continue to focus on pole replacements. UDWI regularly checks poles for decay and damage caused by exposure to the elements.

The 2021 UDWI capital improvement budget also allows for installing additional smart grid technology designed to reduce the frequency and duration of service outages. Smart Grid is a term for technologies installed to increase system visibility, improve efficiency, or improve reliability. “Once development of the new smart grid technology is ready, we will complete a few installations that we’ve had pending and then begin creating a new automatic restoration area,” said UDWI Director of Operations Shane Smith. “This system will work to restore power to an area from a backup feed if the primary feed fails, which will help our members during outages.”

Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC (UDWI REMC) located in Bloomfield, Ind., is an electric utility cooperative that serves nearly 16,000 members in Clay, Daviess, Greene, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Owen, Putnam, Sullivan and Vigo Counties and maintains over 2,000 miles of line.

ELLETTSVILLE and BLOOMFIELD (Indiana) – Construction began January 27 for the first joint fiber project under a partnership with Smithville, Indiana’s largest privately-held telecom, and the Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC (UDWI), according to Darby A. McCarty, Chairman and CEO of Smithville, and Doug Childs, UDWI CEO. Plans call for 280 homes in the joint Smithville/UDWI service area east of Stanford to receive access to Smithville high-speed fiber service, which is nationally recognized.

The first phase begins a construction process that will eventually include about 800 homes in the rural area east of Stanford in Monroe County. The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

Additional areas of the project are expected to start construction later in 2021. Smithville is funding construction through private investments made by the company, which will include use of UDWI aerial and other assets. No rate increases will be required to fund this project by either Smithville or UDWI. .

“Given Smithville’s current customer base in shared areas served by UDWI in Greene and Monroe counties, this partnership is expected to benefit communities and customers served by both organizations,” said Ms. McCarty. “We expect that this partnership will help accelerate fiber access without raising costs to our mutual base of customers.”

Childs noted, “We’re excited about this first project, as it uses an innovative approach to positively leverage the  current and future assets of both organizations while offering additional benefits to our members in shared areas.”

“Even as this first joint project proceeds, UDWI will continue its set plans to improve service reliability through both capital improvements and increased vegetation management without interruption,” said Childs.  “It’s a win-win for all.”

Smithville’s engineering teams have completed plans for the initial Monroe County project area, which will include using some aerial infrastructure assets owned by UDWI. Joint planning for the remainder of the project is now underway. The planning process will continue within the two-year timeframe as new construction areas are added within the first Monroe County project.

“We expect that this initial project will allow us to expand our partnership as we consider additional projects,” said Cullen McCarty, executive vice president of Smithville. Future joint projects will be identified based on Smithville’s planned fiber expansion areas and aligned with UDWI’s capital improvement plan, he added.

Smithville and UDWI already both provide service in areas near the $100 million WestGate@Crane Technology Park and other portions of south-central Indiana, where additional joint projects may also materialize. However, the companies will complete their first joint project before actively pursuing additional opportunities, McCarty explained.“This joint project gives both companies the opportunity to reach customers more quickly with high-speed fiber service that otherwise might be delayed,” said Smithville President Paul Quick. “The past year has fully demonstrated the need for high-speed and high-capacity connectivity and innovative cooperation will help bring a welcome solution to hard-to-reach rural areas.”

ABOUT SMITHVILLE: Nationally recognized for more than a decade as a Top 100 Broadband Company, privately owned Smithville is Indiana’s largest independent telecom company with more than 200 employees. As a fifth-generation family-owned business, Smithville has been committed to delivering fast and reliable connectivity and legendary service to its customers for nearly a century. The company is well-known as an industry leader and community supporter for rural Indiana.

Since the early 1990s, Smithville has constructed more than 2,800 miles of high-speed, high-capacity fiber across more than 17 Indiana counties, representing private investments totaling upward of a quarter of a billion dollars, including the recent completion of a $4.5 million, 100-gigabit fiber ring.

In addition to its residential services, Smithville provides commercial fiber-based connectivity for businesses, university campuses, biotechnology companies, healthcare providers, government offices, residential centers, communities, and other entities, including the WestGate@Crane Technology Park and the Purdue Research Park. The company currently serves about 23,000 businesses and residences in southern and central Indiana. For more information, please visit www.smithville.com.

ABOUT UTILITIES DISTRICT OF WESTERN INDIANA (UDWI) REMC: Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC is a non-profit organization engaged principally in the distribution and sale of electricity in Greene and parts of Clay, Daviess, Know, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Owen, Putnam, Sullivan and Vigo Counties in Indiana. The mission of UDWI: To provide its members with electricity and quality, efficient service, while maintaining a financially healthy and rate-competitive position in the industry through teamwork, mutual respect, and an ongoing commitment to its members. For more information, please visit www.udwiremc.com.

BLOOMFIELD, Ind. (Dec. 22, 2020) — The Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC had a productive and record-setting 2020, despite the challenges of operating through the pandemic. The utility company exceeded its goals for infrastructure improvements and will continue its focus to repair and replace lines and while working to sustain power costs for 2021.

The co-op was able to repair and/or replace 35 miles of aging line in 2020, which is crucial to increasing reliability and is an achievement that was reached while keeping linemen socially distanced and safe during COVID-19. The line replaced this year is a record for UDWI and is more than the co-op replaced in 2013 through 2016 combined. Moving forward UDWI has a goal to replace up to 30 miles of line and repair many old poles in 2021.

In early December, UDWI and Smithville, Indiana’s largest privately-held telecom, announced a unique limited partnership that is expected to accelerate high-speed fiber construction in a cost-effective manner. The partnership is expected to mutually benefit customers and communities in their overlapping service areas. 

The first project will bring high-speed fiber-optic connectivity to more than 800 homes in the rural area east of Stanford in Monroe County. The two-year project will begin its initial phase in early 2021 and focus on building residential fiber connectivity to about 280 homes. Additional areas of the project are expected to start construction later in 2021, providing access to 800 homes in the project area. 

“This strategic partnership allows UDWI to continue our present focus on both capital improvements and increased vegetation management to improve service reliability for our members,” said UDWI Board Secretary Sophie Haywood. “We look forward to getting this first project underway.” 

UDWI CEO Doug Childs presented the 2021 budget to the board of directors at the November meeting, where it was approved. The budget focuses on a set of goals for the new year: capital credits, infrastructure improvements, and investments.

Highlights of the budget include planned capital credits distribution of $662,000, and a capital improvement budget totaling $6.05 million dollars with $2 million allocated to replace aging wire and make other system improvements. A significant announcement is that the budget requires no planned rate increases for UDWI members for 2021.

“We have not seen a significant decrease in power usage due to COVID-19 so we plan to keep working on infrastructure improvements and capital credits distribution,” said Childs. “Our employees have been incredible this year under very difficult circumstances, and we have been successful due to their hard work and commitment to the members.”

Also at the November board meeting, Brian Stavish with the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) presented the board of directors with an update on the utility industry. Across the country, residential homeowners are using less power, as the popularity of energy-efficient products continues to grow. UDWI is seeing some of the same trends among its members, but the co-op is still in good financial standing because of budget cuts in other areas. The presentation also showed UDWI’s growth in capital credit distribution over the last five years, which has doubled.

On average, utility rates have stabilized or risen for most areas of the country, however, UDWI has been able to actually decrease its rates for its members, in recent years. UDWI has spent the last three years dramatically cutting costs across all areas of the co-op, from decreasing staff and improving operational efficiencies to switching insurance providers and providing onsite training for linemen. 

While these efforts have made an impact, the cost of purchasing power has continued to rise and is the most significant cost to members. UDWI is committed to advocating for lower power costs and strategies to supply more cost-effective choices for its members in 2021. 

“UDWI is doing a great job financially running the co-op and we are seeing great things in terms of comparisons to other utilities,” said Stavish. “Rates going down is not something you often see, so congratulations on making that happen.” 

In other news, Districts 5, 7, and 8 are up for election in 2021. Candidates that are interested in running for UDWI’s Board of Directors must pick up a candidate packet from the main office and turn it in completed on or before Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. More information was included in November’s newsletter and can be found on UDWI’s Facebook page.The next UDWI Board Meeting will be held virtually Monday, Dec. 28 at 6:30 p.m. Contact the UDWI office if you wish to attend the meeting.

Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC (UDWI REMC), located in Bloomfield, Ind., is an electric utility cooperative that serves nearly 16,000 members in Clay, Daviess, Greene, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Owen, Putnam, Sullivan and Vigo Counties and maintains over 2,000 miles of line.

ELLETTSVILLE and BLOOMFIELD (Indiana) – Smithville, Indiana’s largest privately-held telecom, and the Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC (UDWI)  announced a unique limited partnership that is expected to accelerate high-speed fiber construction in a cost-effective manner. The partnership is expected to mutually benefit customers and communities in their overlapping service areas, according to Darby A. McCarty, Chairman and CEO of Smithville, and Doug Childs, UDWI CEO. 

The two companies will first leverage this new partnership to bring high-speed fiber-optic connectivity to more than 800 homes in the rural area east of Stanford in  Monroe County. The two-year project will begin its initial phase in early 2021 and focus on building residential fiber connectivity to about 280 homes. Additional areas of the project are expected to start construction later in 2021. The companies set a schedule that forecasts the completion of the full project of more than 800 homes by the end of  2022. 

“Smithville currently has fiber and legacy service customers in Greene and  Monroe Counties and other areas served by UDWI, so combining strategic resources in a limited partnership will bring benefits to present and future customers and communities served by both,” said Ms. McCarty. “Many of these areas have high  construction costs, so this partnership will help lower costs and accelerate fiber access  without impacting either of our customer bases.” 

According to Childs, “This approach represents a best-of-all-worlds solution for our members and organization, leveraging UDWI’s existing infrastructure and  Smithville’s telecommunications expertise to bring our members the connectivity that they want and need at the lowest possible cost. 

“This strategic partnership allows UDWI to continue our present focus on both capital improvements and increased vegetation management to improve service reliability for our members,” said Childs. “We look forward to getting this first project  underway.”

According to UDWI Board Director Sophie Haywood, the partnership offers great benefits to the members and has full board support. “Our board of directors is excited about the partnership and the opportunity to bring better connectivity to our members. It’s something they have asked for, which we could not have done economically on our own. Through this partnership, we are helping find new ways to address the needs of our members.” 

Smithville’s engineering teams are completing plans for the initial Monroe  County project area, which will include using some aerial infrastructure assets owned by  UDWI. Joint planning will continue throughout the two-year timeframe as new construction areas are added within the initial Monroe County project. 

The organizations are presently considering additional joint projects that utilize  UDWI’s electric infrastructure and Smithville’s telecommunications expertise to construct high-speed fiber infrastructure in places where their service areas overlap,  according to Cullen McCarty, executive vice president of Smithville. “This initial project will serve as the foundation for additional projects in the future,” he added. “The  Monroe County project is just the beginning.”

Smithville and UDWI already both provide service in areas near the $100 million  WestGate@Crane Technology Park and other portions of south-central Indiana, where additional joint projects may also materialize. However, the companies will complete their initial joint project before actively pursuing additional opportunities, McCarty explained. 

“Smithville is committed to doing what it takes to continue to advance high-speed fiber connectivity in Indiana, especially in rural areas,” said Darby McCarty. “We are an active member of UDWI REMC, so we hold a positive vested interest in supporting current UDWI capital improvement projects and other customer initiatives,” she added. 

According to Smithville President Paul Quick, the need for connectivity has never been more evident, and finding ways to work together is the best way to address that need. “This type of innovative cooperation is exciting because of the new opportunities it creates to speed up fiber development and bring high-speed service to hard-to-reach rural areas that truly need it,” said Quick. “The real winners here are the customers of  Smithville and UDWI.” 

About Smithville  

Nationally recognized for more than a decade as a Top 100 Broadband Company,  privately owned Smithville is Indiana’s largest independent telecom company with more than 200 employees. As a fifth-generation, family-owned business, Smithville has been committed to delivering fast and reliable connectivity and legendary serviceto its customers for nearly a century. The company is well-known as an industry leader and community supporter for rural Indiana.  

Since the early 1990s, Smithville has constructed more than 2,800 miles of high-speed,  high-capacity fiber across more than 22 Indiana counties, representing private investments totaling upward of a quarter of a billion dollars, including the recent completion of a $4.5 million, 100-gigabit fiber ring. 

In addition to its residential services, Smithville provides commercial fiber-based  connectivity for businesses, university campuses, biotechnology companies, healthcare  providers, government offices, residential centers, communities, and other entities,  including the WestGate@Crane Technology Park and the Purdue Research Park. The  company currently serves about 23,000 businesses and residences in southern and  central Indiana. For more information, please visit www.smithville.com.

About Utilities District of Western Indiana (UDWI) REMC 

Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC is a non-profit organization engaged  principally in the distribution and sale of electricity in Greene and parts of Clay,  Daviess, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Owen, Putnam, Knox, Sullivan, and Vigo counties  in Indiana. The mission for UDWI: To provide its members with electricity and  quality, efficient service, while maintaining a financially healthy and rate competitive position in the industry through teamwork, mutual respect, and an on-going commitment to our members. For more information, please visit www.udwiremc.com.

BLOOMFIELD, Ind. (Aug. 19, 2020) — The Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC remains committed to improving the infrastructure in its system and is on pace to complete more than 30 miles of new line construction in 2020.

The co-op has completed 17 miles of line through the first seven months of 2020, and has another 14 under construction, with 10 of those 14 miles well on the way toward completion. Construction has taken place throughout the UDWI service territory, with a focus on areas with the most-aged lines that often contribute to outages.

“This year we set a goal of 34 miles of new line,” said UDWI Director of Operations Shane Smith. “While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to slightly amend that goal, we are still on pace for a record-breaking year.”

The co-op has more than 2,000 miles of line with approximately 50 percent that must be repaired or replaced. Near and long-term construction plans are primarily focused on the 1,070 miles of copper lines that are over 60 years old in some areas of the UDWI service territory. Around 350 miles of aluminum wire have also been identified for future upgrades or replacement. 

Last year, UDWI completed a record year for line replacement and construction, replacing nearly 28 miles of the aging infrastructure –more than double the amount of line replacement completed during any previous year in recent history.

In addition, Hoosier Heritage Management (HHM) has cleared trees and brush from over 30 miles of right-of-way and sprayed overgrown vegetation on an additional 22 miles. During high winds and storms, falling vegetation directly accounted for 42 percent of UDWI’s outages in 2019, with another 19 percent of outages suspected to be caused by vegetation. The co-op is actively working through the areas with the most vegetation-caused outages first. The long-term goal is to bring the system up to the industry standard of a “seven-year trim cycle” that has not ever been in place at UDWI.

“During the past several decades, many needed upgrades and replacements weren’t always completed as quickly as they should have been,” said UDWI CEO Doug Childs. “UDWI is now faced with an aging system in need of many miles of line replacements and we must also increase our commitment to tree trimming and vegetation management. UDWI is addressing these challenges and for the past two years improving our system’s infrastructure has been a driving force for the UDWI board, management, and staff; safe and reliable power for our members is our top priority.” 

Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC (UDWI REMC), located in Bloomfield, Ind., is an electric utility cooperative that serves nearly 16,000 members in Clay, Daviess, Greene, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Owen, Putnam, Sullivan and Vigo Counties and maintains over 2,000 miles of line.