Dispatch center gives PEC 24/7 coverage

At Pickwick Electric Cooperative, we are constantly looking for ways to better serve our members. One area PEC recognized was the need for additional help in answering major outage calls and dispatching after normal business hours.

To address this concern, PEC employed the services of the Cooperative Response Center (CRC) located in Dunlap, Tennessee. CRC is a dispatching organization that was formed in 1992 by a group of electric cooperatives to address the growing telecommunications needs of the members they serve.

With its advanced telephone and computer technology, CRC is able to answer hundreds of calls per hour. They can quickly answer calls and dispatch our duty crews while providing up-to-date information about the situation. In addition they will also handle any overflow calls during normal business hours when call volume is high.

The CRC operator will answer the call and request such information as name, address, phone number and account number. If the caller is reporting an outage, the operator will send this information to PEC’s on call supervisor, who in turn will dispatch the duty crew to the problem area. If the supervisor receives additional information after dispatching the duty crew he will relay these new details to them by cellular phone.

Once the duty crew arrives at the site, they will evaluate the problem and call CRC to let them know if it is going to be an extended outage. They also contact CRC as soon as the electricity is restored. CRC then passes this information on to members who have called in and requested a call back.