“Unplanned” power pole replacement

Elgin, Nebraska Antelope County Nebraska Elkhorn Rural Public Power District ERPPD The Elgin Review pole fire
ERPPD crew members worked fast to replace the damaged pole and return service to normal. E-R photo

Elgin, Nebraska Antelope County Nebraska Elkhorn Rural Public Power District ERPPD The Elgin ReviewERPPD does repairs

A number of Elgin residents were awakened by the fire whistle in the pre-dawn hours today (Tuesday).
The Elgin Volunteer Fire Department (EVFD) were called to a power pole fire at 3:30 a.m., July 9th. EVFD remained on the scene until Elkhorn Rural Public Power District (ERPPD) crews arrived at approximately 4:30 a.m..
According to ERPPD personnel doing repair work, the cause of the fire was a faulty insulator. The pole was located near South 5th and Elm streets. Damage was contained to the top of the pole and the entire pole was replaced.

Poles currently being inspected

Earlier this summer, the Elkhorn Rural Public Power District announced that it has contracted with a new company to do pole testing in the Clearwater, Elgin and Ewing areas.

This year Sundance Power Pole Inspections (Sundance PPI), out of Colorado, will be doing our pole inspections.  They will be in the towns and in the area around the towns starting July 1.

Pole testing will be conducted in the towns of Elgin, Ewing and Clearwater.  They will also be conducted out of Substation 9 – west circuit, which is northwest and west of Clearwater.  Also, out of Substation 25 – east and west circuits, which is east and southwest of Ewing.

Pole inspections consist of visually examining the pole, doing a sound test by hitting it with a hammer and digging out the pole to see if there is decay underground.  Poles that show signs of advanced decay are marked for removal, before mother nature causes an outage.

Systematic pole testing is part of the ERPPD maintenance plan and helps us keep a 99.98% reliability rating.