MEWS NEW DATA CENTER
If you have recently visited the office of MEWS you may have noticed a construction site. Mayfield Electric & Water Systems is excited to announce the construction of our new Data Center. Like always, technology and times are changing MEWS felt the need to be able to provide customers with the fastest and most reliable service. A brief history below describes a timeline of how we have grown into offering customers local, fast, reliable, fiber and the need for the construction of the new data center.
MEWS began looking for a means to serve our water and wastewater existing plants, lift stations and electrical substation with access to the internet. In 2004, MEWS’ only internet option available was with AT&T. They were to provide MEWS with a T 1 line service into the office at the cost of $300 a month MEWS began to look into other options and found Cam Vera Networks out of Georgia. This company allowed small municipals like MEWS a 2.4mhz wireless solution that would allow MEWS the option to implement the network and the ability to serve our needs.
In August 2005, MEWS was awarded a $100,000 grant by the Kentucky Legislative Body, HB267 due to MEWS commitment to network infrastructure. These funds were able to construct the first SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) System for the Water and Wastewater Systems. The SCADA systems allows MEWS to monitor tank and lift station levels for our water and wastewater system. In the House Bill 267 MEWS was also awarded $65,000 for an engineering hydraulic model which we still utilize today.
October 2007 the MEWS Electric Plant Board approved the construction of a 349ft tower to be built on Farthing Street. The tower allowed MEWS better control and ownership of the infrastructure instead of paying rental on two towers. The tower allowed MEWS to expand the range of our wireless system and cover the MEWS service area as well as offer basic internet needs within in the City of Mayfield.
Then came an event many will never forget, the 2009 ice storm, which became a catalyst to further improve our communication network. Communications via wireless network were extremely limited. MEWS realized the need for a robust Fiber Network and AMI (Advanced Meter Infrastructure) system in order to provide the best service for our customers. In the same year, the Electric Plant Board approved 2.5 million dollar investment into infrastructure improvements which included utilizing the existing MEWS communication tower as a base to serve all our customers with AMI meters for the Electric and Water System. The deployment of AMI reduced MEWS response time to outages and improved customer service. The investment and installation of the AMI meters, allowed MEWS to become the first utility company in the state of Kentucky to offer to offer Prepay/Smart Pay to customers and one of the first multi service prepay providers in the nation. The program allows customers to choose between a post pay and prepay account which gives the customers more options. MEWS has had a great response with the smart pay program over the past 12 years with 1,100 currently enrolled in the program.
As technology evolves so has the need for speed, connectivity and competitive rates. In May 2013 Mayfield joined together with Paducah Power and Murray Electric to form what is now know as Muninet. Muninet has now grown from three cities to seven with Hopkinsville Electric, Russelville Electric, Princeton and Glasgow joining. Utilities coming together has allowed MEWS to build a large fiber network across Western Kentucky to Nashville Tennessee to provide customers with stable internet access and competitive rates.
Recently to further advance customer service MEWS purchased a MDM (Meter Data Management) program that allows MEWS to capture trends in electric and water usage. Providing MEWS the ability to notify customers of water leaks, detect water main breaks, identify and assist with problems for electric customers such as high bill complaints, meter tampers, electrical high temperature alarms, and theft of services for both electric and water meters. The MDM also improves safety by reporting of electric meter high temperature alarms, and assisting in identifying electrical services that could potentially cause a house fire.
MEWS currently serves over 500 businesses and residential customers with access to fiber. As you see with our latest project MEWS felt the need to expand and improve our service again. MEWS Board approved the 2.5 Million dollar project to construct the new data center. The cost of the data center building is at $748,455. The remaining funds from the project will be utilized to complete our mission of providing high speed fiber high speed Fiber internet to every customer and business in our electrical system. Construction began in the spring of 2021 and is expected to be complete in late of 2021. These projects, investments and advancements show MEWS’ commitment to the City of Mayfield and the customers of yesterday, today and for years to come.
