(Milford)– For the first time this summer, Milford Municipal Utilities fired up its back-up generating facility Wednesday.
MMU spokesman Bob Sewell tells KUOO news they started the big machines after getting a request from the North Iowa Municipal Electric Cooperative Association, of which MMU is a member, and Mid America Energy, which had a generating facility off line for repairs.
Sewell says all five generators at MMU were put on line from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Wednesday. They produce a total of 6.5 megawatts of electricity.
Not only do the generators help during times of peak demand on the grid, but Sewell says they also come in handy in the event a transmission line should go down due to a storm or other factors.
Of the five machines, the two older ones were installed in 1947 and 1951. The three newer Caterpillar generators were installed in 1997.
Sewell says Wednesday’s operation of MMU’s generating station will not have an impact on their customers. He says the costs will be absorbed by Mid America Energy, which requested the generators be put on line.
