Harrison REMC’s operations and engineering team plays a critical role in contributing to the co-op’s mission to provide reliable, safe, and affordable energy to all co-op members.

Harrison REMC’s operational department consists of various positions that work together to maintain the co-op’s infrastructure, while ensuring safe and reliable energy delivery. This includes the day-to-day management of over 1,530 miles of electric distribution, outages, right-of-way trimming, and any new construction on the electrical facilities.

This group includes Systems Engineer Bob Casabella, Data Meter Analyst Garth Kimmel, Line Foreman Rodney Cecil, Operations Line Supervisor Brandon Pace, Dispatcher Dave Satori, Operations and Inventory Mike Schickel, Field Services Manager Perry Fraze, Field Service Representative Chris Benskin, and Engineer/Operations Manager Ryan Strohbeck.

As the systems engineer, Casabella maintains information about our different line sections, substations, and loads. He and Kimmel also monitor and analyze all the data from the meter system. Schickel monitors and maintains inventory levels to ensure the operations department functions efficiently. Pace and Cecil work together to manage the logistics of the construction and line crews.

They are responsible for scheduling all linemen jobs. Satori is responsible for dispatching and monitoring crews and scheduling planned outages. Benskin oversees all right-of-way crews, and Fraze manages all other contractor crews that work for the co-op.

“The engineering and operations department has a major commitment to the membership in ensuring maintenance is upheld, new services are connected in a timely manner, and to ensure our line group is safe and to provide support to them during storm events. “We have great talent and comradery in these departments and enjoy serving the membership,” said Strohbeck.

As a whole, this group is responsible for the activities of electric distribution operations within the co-op, including installation, construction, operation, and maintenance of the electric utility distribution system, including substations, warehousing, and metering.

Their focus and hard work in maintaining a reliable system are essential to meeting the membership’s needs.