Grid Investment Spotlight: Ellijay, Georgia

Georgia Power has completed energy grid improvement work in Ellijay, Georgia, benefitting thousands of North Georgia customers. The company upgraded almost 160 miles of power lines, providing up to an average improvement of 50% in service reliability for its customers. Among the service upgrades to businesses and homes are improvements to Gilmer County Government, City of Ellijay and City of East Ellijay facilities.

Beginning in 2020, Georgia Power undertook a massive energy grid project known as the Grid Investment Program across the state, including the city of Ellijay. While Georgia Power crews regularly maintain and upgrade the energy grid every day, work under this program goes beyond the regular process to address under-performing equipment and strengthen power lines, making the grid more resilient.

“We have been very deliberate in these investments, analyzing the area’s performance data and trends to ensure that we’re putting our resources in the right places, said Area Manager Bryan Griffin. “We are also leveraging technology that can help prevent power outages, and when interruptions occur, allows us to restore power faster for our customers.”

The company worked safely and courteously, and strived to minimize inconveniences caused by construction work. The Ellijay Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses noticed and expressed the following sentiments to Georgia Power leaders: “THANK YOU for your excellent, safe traffic control on our Coosawattee roads . . . Each one of you have been very patient and kind, courteous, and long-suffering with the enormous task undertaken. Your professionalism is a credit to your work ethics.” 

In Ellijay, the company deployed various customized solutions to help make the grid more resilient, reduce service interruptions and shorten outage times. These include: 

• Upgraded more than 1,005 power poles, to make them more resilient against severe weather;
• Placed nearly 40 miles of power lines underground, and
• Installed 139 smart devices.

“Our Grid Investment Program focuses on making smart investments for Ellijay and Georgia’s energy future. Upgrading our interconnected energy grid is part of our commitment to delivering the clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy our customers expect and deserve,” said Griffin.

For more information about Georgia Power’s Grid Investment Program, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com/Grid.