Texas Could Be Required to Connect with Other States’ Electric Grids

Texas Could Be Required to Connect with Other States’ Electric Grids

Texas Could Be Required to Connect with Other States’ Electric Grids

While the rest of the lower 48 states are on either the Eastern or Western Connection Power grids, Texas’ ERCOT grid stands alone. For decades, Texas has operated its own power grid outside of the authority of the federal government. This has allowed Texas’ “…Public Utility Commission to decide how power prices are set in Texas to…theoretically optimize the Texas economy.” Though, recently faced with winter ice storms and relentless heat spells, the Texas grid has become a cause for reliability concerns.

According to a recent story from Texas Standard, Federal regulators have been considering a rule that would force Texas to connect to the nationwide grid allowing for an easier exchange of power.

Click here to learn more and read the full story.

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Irby Aids in Hurricane Idalia Storm Restoration

Irby Aids in Hurricane Idalia Storm Restoration

Irby Aids in Hurricane Idalia Storm Restoration

When a major storm is heading toward landfall and most people are evacuating, Irby crews move in instead. Following storm outages, our top priority is to bring residents a sense of normalcy by safely restoring power as quickly as possible. Hurricane Idalia was no different, and in the wake of the storm, Irby deployed over 520 crew members across Florida to perform storm restoration work. These crews included line workers, supervisors, mechanics, safety coordinators, and storm damage assessors who performed transmission, distribution, logistics, and storm damage assessment work. In addition to this, Irby also provided various types of equipment and assisted with mobilizing the Quanta Mobile Command Center to a staged area in Perry, Florida. Project managers and supervisors from several organizations utilized the command center to conduct storm restoration operations.

Less than a week after Hurricane Idalia made landfall, Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, announced that 96% of power had been restored. He went on to praise the thousands of brave linemen by saying “…restoring power to the homes and businesses of impacted Floridians is an important step in the recovery process and would not be possible without the hard work of our utility linemen.” Irby is proud to have assisted our customers, the residents of Florida, and our fellow line workers in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia.

Read more about Florida’s speedy restoration efforts at the link HERE.

Aging Power Lines Pose High Risk for Electric Utilities

Aging Power Lines Pose High Risk for Electric Utilities

Aging Power Lines Pose High Risk for Electric Utilities

The ever-growing importance of upgrading and maintaining power infrastructure is evident through recent extreme heat events and devastating fires. It is not just about hurricanes, tornadoes, and winter storms anymore, as made clear this summer through the catastrophic Maui wildfires.

It has never been more important to harden the electric systems that are at the mercy of these extreme events every day, as the safety of our natural world and our people depends on it. Currently, American utilities face billions in wildfire liability with these aging power lines, so assessing these systems and implementing solutions is crucial. Irby Construction is actively working across the South to harden these unruly systems into safer, more reliable power for all.

To learn more, click HERE.

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Irby Attends the Gulf Coast Big Rig Truck Show and Wins

Irby Attends the Gulf Coast Big Rig Truck Show and Wins

Irby Attends the Gulf Coast Big Rig Truck Show and Wins

Irby’s top of the line equipment empowers our people and projects to be the best they can be. Casey Lawrence, Irby Truck Driver, and his family recently attended the annual Gulf Coast Big Rig Truck Show. This event promotes the trucking industry through competition and community with the core goal of supporting the Wounded Warrior Project.

The show took place on Friday, July 21st and Saturday, July 22nd in Biloxi at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center. Casey entered his Irby truck into the “Combo” truck class competition, which includes truck and trailer combination rigs.

Casey’s truck ended up being the very last truck to be judged in the Combo category. There were more than 90 trucks entered in the contest, and Casey’s Irby truck won two awards! Irby won First Place for Combo Best Interior, and Third Place Combo Overall. Casey said it was an honor to win. More importantly, though, Casey enjoyed the camaraderie, industry networking, and showing that he holds his truck to the highest standards.

Way to go, Casey!

Quanta Commitment Coin Recipient: Nicole Sparks

Quanta Commitment Coin Recipient: Nicole Sparks

Quanta Commitment Coin Recipient: Nicole Sparks

Nicole Sparks, Irby Office Manager, noticed something strange upon her arrival at the Claremore, Oklahoma office early one morning.

As she was backing into her parking spot, she saw what appeared to be a small fire under a van parked across the street. No one accompanied the vehicle or was in the area at the time. She secured her belongings and went toward the van to verify what exactly she  was seeing. Once she realized that there was some sort of electrical fire happening under the engine and near the front passenger side tire, she quickly retrieved a fire extinguisher and was able to put out the fire without further damage to the vehicle.

The Quanta Commitment Coin is only given to those employees who go above and beyond while on the job. Quanta and Irby are honored to present this award to Nicole, and we thank her for her swift action in what could have been a very hazardous situation.

Luke Naron, Irby Regional Safety Manager, presenting Nicole Sparks with the Quanta Commitment Coin.

Proposed Texas Coast Hurricane Barrier

Proposed Texas Coast Hurricane Barrier

Proposed Texas Coast Hurricane Barrier

A preliminary design of the Coastal Spine Barrier – a $30 billion project – has been approved. This hurricane barrier and storm suppression system would run along the Texas coast from Galveston to Corpus Christi, and could ultimately impact all of the United States. Aiding in protecting infrastructure along the Gulf Coast as well as improving supply chain delays during harsh storms, this would be the largest civil works project ever taken on by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.

Dr. Kelly Burkes-Copes with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers remarks that “The idea and intent is to combine a series of gated structures – kind of what we consider gray infrastructure, you may think of it as concrete and water – with natural and nature-based solutions like beaches and dunes and wetlands, to basically improve the resilience of the entire Texas coast.”

Learn more about this groundbreaking project here.

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