Procedure for Working on Secondaries & Meter Equipment
With the implementation of our new AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) metering system, Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative (MLEC) has revised our procedure for allowing electricians or members to work on any part of live transformer secondaries or meter socket enclosures.
MLEC recognizes the safety hazards created by unsealing and removing meters from their meter sockets. Our new AMI metering infrastructure allows us to be notified almost instantly when an outage occurs, or a meter is removed.
Electricians or members are required to contact MLEC to schedule the removal of a meter, or the need for the disconnection of service to work within a live meter socket enclosure or for work on transformer secondary wiring. Failure to do so will result in monetary reimbursement equal to the cost of labor and equipment dispatched to the site. Wiring on the secondary side of transformer taps is owned by, and the responsibility of the members.
When MLEC is dispatched for an outage and it is determined that the outage was due to faulty overhead or underground member-owned secondary wires, the members will be notified.
Overhead and underground wiring directly connected to transformer taps can be repaired by MLEC for the cost of labor and materials. Wiring after the “service point” must be completed by a licensed electrical contractor or inspected before MLEC reenergizes the service. The service point for overhead services is the wiring extending out of the masthead on the utility pole. The service point for underground services is at the line side terminals in the meter socket enclosure.
MLEC prides itself on providing service to our members during an emergency. If emergency work needs to be completed after hours, MLEC staff can be contacted through our 24-hour dispatch service.
You can schedule an outage by calling (800) 450-2192, both during and after business hours. If calling during business hours, please ask for Operations.
Operations Team
Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative