Image caption: BCT Outside Plant Supervisor Brian Mount examines a power supply system in Beavercreek’s Lower Highland area.

It’s no secret that power outages are common in the Beavercreek area, and we know how frustrating it can be when your internet connection goes out as a result. That’s why the BCT Engineering and Outside Plant teams are working to implement a new battery backup system that is designed to provide up to 8 hours of internet connectivity in the event of a PGE commercial power outage.

With this new system, members can stay connected to the internet during a power outage if they have an alternative power source to their home, such as a generator. The construction of the battery backup system will be handled in a phased approach, with the pockets of our service area most vulnerable to power outages being implemented first – this includes the areas of Lower and Upper Highland, Hogback, Schuebel School, Clarkes Northeast, and Spangler East – and second will be Spangler West, Eldorado, and Carus South. This will provide battery backup for internet connectivity to over 800 members once the system has been constructed. The yellow area in the map below is the first pocket where battery backup units will be installed, and the purple section is the second.

In the next several months, you’ll begin to see metal cabinets housing battery power supplies mounted about 15-20 feet up on power poles throughout the areas listed above. We expect construction of the battery backup systems to these pockets to be finished by autumn this year.