Volume 16, Issue 2 - May 2023

The Supplier

Western United Yard Expansion

Western United recently completed work on our Brighton Colorado yard expansion, adding over 5 acres of paved storage space. This much needed addition will allow the company to significantly increase the amount of product we can store onsite.

The yardwork was completed with no out of pocket expense to the company after successful negotiations on a shared easement swap with our neighbor to the east of our facility. Western United warehouse staff is actively rearranging our yard to best utilize the new space.

Greg Mordini
Chief Executive Officer
Western United Electric Supply

Employee Spotlight

Meet Adam Tomczak

Adam is the Lead Warehouseman in our Albuquerque Operation. Adam started as a temp in our warehouse in June 2020. In December of 2020 we promoted our Lead Warehouse Man to an Inside Sales position, and we hired Adam on as a full time Western United employee to fill the Lead Warehouseman position. The position is fast-moving and demanding both physically and mentally and Adam has done a great job filling the position.

Adam is responsible for the daily shipping and receiving processes and supervises the workload of the other two warehouse employees. Adam also coordinates and manages our daily outgoing shipments and oversees the daily and weekly deliveries with our two CDL drivers. Adam also has the responsibility of maintenance and repairs on our fleet of delivery vehicles and warehouse equipment. Adam has done a great job in keeping our warehousing and shipping processes running smoothly.

Outside of work Adam enjoys golfing and is an avid hockey fan. Adam and his wife Sadie are expecting their first child, a daughter, in August. So, we all know his golfing days will be limited in the future.

Adam has been a great addition to our staff in Albuquerque and we are appreciative of everything he has done to keep things running smoothly in the Albuquerque operation.

SAVE THE DATE

Mark your calendars for the Semi-Annual Western United Open House. This years event will be held on September 14th at our Brighton Headquarters. The event will include the latest products in the Utility industry, equipment and product demonstrations, with over 50 vendors. Lunch and customer door prizes will also be provided. Please RSVP to Beverly Dinkel bdinkely@wue.coop if you plan to attend. Formal invitations will be issued in the coming week.

Product Update

S&C Technology Helps Reduce Power Outages from Hours to a Minute or Less

S&C Electric Company, a leader in grid modernization, recently launched its new EdgeRestore® Underground Distribution Restoration System. The EdgeRestore system dramatically improves customer power reliability by mitigating outages and eliminating emergency truck rolls on underground residential distribution systems. “The EdgeRestore system truly modernizes the last mile of the underground power distribution system, reducing sustained power outages to momentary interruptions and making the grid safer, smarter, and more resilient throughout weather challenges and growing electricity demands,” said Anders Sjoelin, S&C President and CEO. “S&C’s long history of grid innovation and customer focus helps us deliver solutions that address the challenges utilities face today and anticipate the challenges they will face tomorrow.” When an underground fault occurs on an underground residential loop, the EdgeRestore system automatically locates and isolates the fault and reroutes power from an alternate source—all within 60 seconds. This intelligent system reduces the impact of sustained outages that commonly last for hours and eliminates the need for immediate crew intervention, keeping power on until the underlying issue can be resolved. Automatic fault isolation also greatly simplifies the process for locating faults on underground residential circuits and reduces medium-voltage exposure for crews. The EdgeRestore system is easy to deploy, with smart communication across existing power cables. It fits inside the transformer enclosures on new or existing underground residential loop circuits, with no changes to the normal protection scheme. The devices do not need any programming, firmware updates, computers, Internet connectivity, batteries, radios, or antennas.

Federal Pacific

GridConnex is an excellent alternative to traditional pole mount medium voltage service equipment for the solar, battery storage, or wind energy provider.

Gridconnex Significantly reduces installation time while remaining aesthetically pleasing. The GridConnex product offers a significant reduction in installation time. A single GridConnex is capable of replacing 4 to 5 poles! This allows for rapid deployment and ease of installation.

GridConnex is cost-effective because many required components are combined into a single enclosure. Simply stated, gang-operated air brake switches, reclosers, control power transformers, metering clusters, and fuse cutouts can be replaced with one prefigured product. The field labor savings are substantial. A fully loaded GridConnex product will include revenue grade metering, a visible disconnect for safe isolation and the ability to lockout, and circuit breakers. (GridConnex comes standard with three independent circuit breakers. Tripping is three-phase, but open phase commissioning is possible with safe individual phase tripping).