Two important grant-supported projects to improve MPE’s grid resilience are progressing and are scheduled for completion late this summer.
These projects will also help mitigate fires starting due to electrical sparks, trees falling on power lines, and wildlife interference with powerline equipment. Michels was selected as the contractor through a competitive bid process for MPE's grid hardening projects – North Shore and Drowsy Water. Grant funding through the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) from the Department of Energy (DOE) will provide MPE with just over $700,000, which allows MPE to pair this funding with scheduled work plan dollars to complete these much-needed mitigation projects.
Michels has completed over half of the rebuild for the North Shore project off Highway 34 between Granby and Grand Lake. The Drowsy Water overhead-to-underground conversion between Granby and Hot Sulphur Springs is also moving forward as planned. Nearly all underground infrastructure has been installed, and the project is expected to be fully
completed within the next 5 to 6 weeks. MPE staff has also secured an additional $8.7 million in grant funding from the Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Management for an additional seven areas of grid hardening/fire mitigation work plan projects across MPE’s service territory, which otherwise would have taken years to fund and complete.
MPE was awarded another CEO/DOE grant of nearly $350,000 for advanced grid monitoring.
The funds are helping provide MPE with a comprehensive aerial field survey for the 21,600 poles and more than 1,300 miles of MPE’s distribution system. As of July 15, the certified drone pilots with SAM (Systems and Mapping) had captured images of around 8,760 poles and had professional inspectors examine around 4,585 poles. MPE is notified in real-time when SAM inspectors find what they deem a “critical anomaly,” and MPE Operations responds by sending a crew out as quickly as possible for the repairs. As of July 15, there had been around 12 such finds reported and then repaired to prevent potential outages or further damage to the system. SAM anticipates project completion in mid-September. Members may hear or see the drones flying over the poles and overhead power lines and may notice return flights where crews may need to photograph and inspect poles not previously captured.
MPE was honored to host John Parks, Colorado Energy Office (CEO) Grid Resilience Program Manager, on June 30 for site visits to MPE's grid monitoring and grid hardening projects, as seen in the photo on the left. John expressed gratitude for the visit and was impressed with the scope of work and system improvements that these CEO projects are incorporating, highlighting them as strong examples of how strategic investment in rural grid resilience can enhance reliability, safety, and long-term sustainability.
This story was featured in the August 2025 edition of Plugged In, MPE's monthly member newsletter.