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This week on the podcast Christopher talks with Anza Electric Cooperative General Manager Kevin Short, and Network Administrator Sean Trento.
Anza Electric stretches across 550 square miles in Southern California between San Diego and Palm Springs, sandwiched between the Salton Sea and the San Jacinto Mountains. About 6 years ago they initiated a vote to see whether membership was interested in leadership building fiber not just to electric substations and SCADA systems, but residences as well. When 93% voted in favor, they took it as a mandate. Today, Anza is about halfway done building to their 5,200 members, and getting a 60% take rate.
Kevin and Sean share how it came together and the operational flexibility it provides the electric cooperative, including how it helps bring resiliency and redundancy to a region vulnerable to wildfires. Kevin and Sean tell Chris what it’s like hooking up households that have never had Internet access before, their recent bid for FCC RDOF funds, and the cooperative’s plans for the future.
This show is 31 minutes long and can be played on this page or via iTunes or the tool of your choice using this feed.
Transcript coming soon.
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Thanks to Arne Huseby for the music. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.