Mojave Electric reviews outages, meter growth and preparedness as monsoon season begins

A Mojave Electric representative gave Bullhead City Council an overview of recent outages, membership growth and preparedness steps as Monsoon season starts. The presentation reviewed outage categories, causes and mitigation steps and highlighted a marked rise in new meters coming online this year.

The utility representative told the council that so far this year the cooperative has logged eight storm-related outages, 20 bird-related outages, 14 distribution-equipment outages, 12 underground cable faults and one tree-related outage. The presenter said underground faults can take longer to repair and credited the city’s redundant system with allowing quick partial restorations during recent events. "If this continues, we'll definitely break that 806" new-meter mark from last year, the presenter said, citing 313 new meters so far in 2025 compared with 249 at the same point in 2024.

Council members and city staff emphasized the cooperative’s coordination with emergency services during recent outages. City Manager Toby Cotter told the room that the utility is “in direct communication with our dispatch and our emergency services personnel” during incidents and thanked Mojave Electric for rapid restoration efforts.

The representative also discussed long-term planning: a 10-year forecast showing about 1.3% annual residential growth, 1.5% small commercial growth and 1.6% energy consumption growth, and said the cooperative has prioritized battery initiatives, solar and gas generation. The co-op is conducting a cost-of-service study using 2024 as the test year and expects results in the coming months; the presenter said a third-party key-ratio trend analysis ranked the cooperative lowest in controllable costs among 11 Arizona cooperatives.

The presentation included public-safety and customer tips for monsoon season: secure outdoor items, keep flashlights and backups available, follow generator safety guidance (15 feet from structures, do not backfeed the grid), call 811 before digging and take electrical-safety steps for refrigerators and air-conditioning maintenance. The utility representative also listed community outreach programs including National Night Out appearances, the Boom Box Parade, a drone camp that supports overhead-line inspection and other local events.

Vice Mayor Alfonso and other council members thanked the representative for the briefing and for working with city public-safety staff during outages.

The presenter said he would be available after the meeting for follow-up questions.