Bright blue skies and 65-degree temperatures recently greeted an REC field team as it arrived for work in the Partlow area of Spotsylvania County.
In this case, our teams in the office noted a Spotsylvania circuit where critters were causing a high number of power outages.
No storms had rolled through and no serious damage had been reported. But, as they do every day, REC teams went into the field focused on how to improve reliability for members.
First Class Serviceman Bradley Wheeler and Apprentice Lineman Cameron Knowles spent time on Partlow Road adding animal guards and tightening guy wire, which is used to secure power poles. The guards were some of the nearly 1,900 REC installed in the first quarter of 2025.
Our engineers and analytics experts work year-round to identify equipment that needs to be replaced or upgraded to prevent power outages.
“We’re trying to prevent outages from birds, squirrels, or anything like that to keep power on and take care of our members,” Knowles said. “Sometimes something small like this can mean big improvements for our members’ service.”
