The South Georgia landscape is defined by a rich tapestry of communities, each with its own dreams and ambitions, with all relying on a dependable source of energy to help achieve them. As Valdosta resident, I am well-attuned to the needs and aspirations of our community, as well as those in the broader South Georgia region. One fundamental necessity that underpins our daily lives is reliable access to electricity.

At Georgia Power, we recognize the critical importance of reliability in powering our customers’ lives – at home and in business. Over the past decade, our company has embarked on an ambitious journey to strengthen the state’s power grid, investing over $10 billion in transformative programs and initiatives that will improve our grid’s reliability not just today, but for decades to come. In 2023, our continued focus on grid enhancement yielded remarkable results, culminating in a year of very high reliability performance.

Reliability isn’t just a buzzword for us; it’s the cornerstone of everything we do. Our teams share a commitment to delivering power safely and consistently to every corner of our state. Team members work around the clock and across the region, to meet the needs of our customers, utilizing a data-driven approach to inform purposeful investments in grid modernization.

The results are clear, and we’re proud of what we’ve been able to achieve for customers. Last year, Georgia Power achieved commendable reductions in both the frequency and duration of service interruptions, with customers experiencing 15% fewer power outages compared to the previous year. Moreover, restoration times were expedited by an average of 27 minutes — that’s real progress.

One thing you may see our teams doing in the field is the installation of smart, automated devices. In 2023 alone, we installed over 1,000 such devices, empowering our operations team to respond swiftly and effectively to disruptions. Through remote control capabilities, these technologies enable us to reroute power and isolate issues, minimizing customer impact and expediting restoration efforts. Just last year, our crews installed self-healing technology on lines in Moultrie, Boston, Bainbridge, and Nashville.

But our grid modernization efforts extend far beyond smart technology integration. As Georgia’s population continues to grow, our investments in infrastructure help us maintain reliability year-round, with investments including upgrading or rebuilding transmission lines and dozens of substations across Georgia for safe and reliable power delivery to homes and businesses; relocation of hundreds of miles of power lines underground, where it made the most impact; and improvement or installation of tens of thousands of power poles. These investments, tailored to the unique needs of our community, ensure safe and reliable power delivery to homes and businesses alike.

You may have seen our crews in Colquitt recently doing this kind of work. We recently completed our Colquitt Reliability project in which our crews rebuilt a quarter mile of main line that we identified as a cause for service reliability issues in town whenever wind exceeded 30 mph. The line was redesigned and rebuilt to withstand high wind speeds and has already improved the reliability for many of our customers in Colquitt including the Miller County Hospital, Georgia State Patrol, Colquitt Police Department, and the Miller County Sheriff’s Office.

As we look towards the future, Georgia Power remains steadfast in our commitment to building a stronger and more resilient energy grid – in South Georgia, and across the state. We’re proud to serve our communities.

Joe Brownlee is southwest regional director for Georgia Power Company.