Audio: How electricity gets into Trenton’s electrical system and what happens during a power outage with city crews

Trenton Municipal Utilities Sub Station and Generators (TMU)
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Trenton City Administrator and Utility Director Ron Urton reports the after-hours emergency phone number to report power outages in the city is routed to the water plant.

During the power outage that affected the whole city the night of July 15, he says the power plant operator had to shut down the water plant due to getting so many calls, and the plant was also being affected by the outage.

Urton notes there is only one operator at the water plant at night.

 

 

The water plant could supply water to Trenton during the time it was shut down, but it could not make water.

When there is an outage like what happened July 15th, Urton says the first thing crews have to do is go out and see what caused it.

 

 

If someone calls to report an outage, and no one answers, it is a good indication that there has already been notification of the outage. He encourages residents to be patient and not think they are being ignored. He also asks the public to give crews an hour or two to identify the problem and get it repaired.

 

 

The July 15 power outage involved the mainline that feeds the city from its supplier, NW Electric Power Cooperative of Cameron. Urton explains a bird got on the breaker, and the breaker flew open and shut off the power. Within about 10 minutes, NW Electric identified where the breaker was open, and Trenton crews got there to investigate about 15 to 20 minutes after the initial call.

Urton adds that Trenton Municipal Utilities is a member of the Missouri Electric Utilities Joint Commission.

 

 

TMU pays a fee to run electricity across those lines to get it to Trenton.


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