Alabama Power’s first-of-its-kind “Connectivity Crew” recently began work to install and maintain the fiber infrastructure needed to improve automation and communication across its system.

Prior to the creation of the Connectivity Crew, three different crews were tasked with installing, splicing, testing, and activating new fiber-optic cables. Alabama Power’s new, specialized unit is the first in the United States that is trained to complete all operations required for fiber infrastructure installation, inspection, and maintenance.

“We’re thinking about the grid of tomorrow,” said Scott Moore, senior vice president of power delivery for Alabama Power. “Fiber is the key to how we’ll best serve our customers in the future. This is an important investment that makes our grid stronger and more secure, and it puts Alabama Power at the leading edge of fiber deployment and buildout.”

Connectivity Crew deployment is the latest step in Alabama Power’s strategy to invest in fiber expansion to advance core business operations, simultaneously upgrading aging infrastructure and adding state-of-the-art equipment to improve reliability and resilience.

The company partnered with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to create a certified training program for connectivity lineworkers, which led to the creation of the Connectivity Crew. As an added bonus, through partnerships with broadband providers, Alabama Power’s fiber backbone enables connectivity in rural areas, closing the digital divide in communities it serves.

Alabama Power was among the first electric power companies in the nation to deploy automated devices on every distribution feeder on its system and is well on its way towards its goal of sectionalizing its grid into smaller blocks which may be quickly and automatically reconfigured when challenges arise.

“100 percent of our customers are on some form of self-healing network,” said Moore. “We are constantly working on innovative ways to enhance the quality of our service and better meet our customers’ needs.”

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